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A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



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A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



A 

HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

BEFORE THE MIDDLE AGES 



BY 



FRANK PIERREPONT GRAVES, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF 
EDUCATION IN THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1909 

All rights reserved 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Oopies Recefved 

FEB 10 1909 

Copyrifcrnl Entry 
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Copyright, 1909, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1909. 



NaritiaoD ^reee 

J. 8. CusUng Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



TO 
ALBERT ROSS HILL, LL.D. 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI 



PREFACE 

The present publication is intended to meet the 
demand for a text-book or reference work that will give 
a comprehensive account of the history of education 
before the day of the monastic schools. The aim has 
been to present sufficient material to mark the most 
significant movements, and disclose the underlying 
principles, without entering into unnecessary detail, or 
dwelHng upon matters but remotely related to the edu- 
cational problems of to-day. While there has been no 
attempt to adduce exhaustive proof of the various theses 
maintained, it is hoped that enough has been presented 
to make them acceptable for the occasion, and to serve 
as an interpretative basis of further study. 

An effort has, moreover, been made to see that all 
interpretations are based upon historical data collected 
from the sources ; and direct quotation of this material 
has been liberally made throughout. Also, to supply 
deficiencies in either facts or interpretation and stimu- 
late the student to research or further reading, refer- 
ences to the sources and to collateral works have been 
given at the end of each chapter. I believe that teach- 
ers should encourage their pupils to use this part of 



viii PREFACE 

the book especially, if for no other purpose than to find 
a different emphasis and set of generalizations from 
those of the text, and so realize that no one form of 
treatment can be considered infallible or final. 

The point of view and method of presentation in this 
book have been worked out in the class-room and in 
extension lectures. While the treatment is not limited 
to a history of schools and educational methods, a defi- 
nite attempt has been made to center the discussion 
about the schools and render the subject pertinent and 
profitable for the teacher of the present and future. It 
is especially desired that it may prove a stimulus and 
help to the further study of education. 

My general attitude is, with Davidson, to regard edu- 
cation as a species of 'conscious evolution,' and to trace 
throughout the period covered the development of indi- 
vidualism. Accordingly, I have endeavored to point 
out the traditional forms of expression that have grown 
up among the various peoples and become fixed by 
social habit, and the lack of progress that has ensued, 
until, through some conflict of traditions, the individual 
is enabled to select a new pathway of expression. By 
thus adopting a general point of view, I have hoped to 
bind together all nations and periods in a connected 
account of world progress. 

The method of approaching educational history that 
is recommended in Chapter I was first suggested to me 



PREFACE ix 

by a former pupil of Professor Paul Monroe. It closely 
resembles the plan adopted in the Text-book in the 
History of Education that has since been issued by that 
well-known authority. Others, notably Laurie and 
Williams, seem to have used a similar method more or 
less consistently, and the idea was outlined and followed 
to some extent by Schmidt in his Geschichte der Pdda- 
gogik. Experience has shown that, in a more or less 
modified form, this is a natural and effective procedure. 

In order to present the education of each period in 
its proper setting, and show how its ideals arose, a brief 
account of its political and social history has first been 
given. Such knowledge, I have found, cannot be taken 
for granted. 

I have to acknowledge indebtedness to many persons, 
including those who have previously written on this range 
of educational history. Nearly every chapter of the 
book has been submitted to some authority in the par- 
ticular field, and some of the grosser errors eliminated 
in this way. Those that remain are probably due to 
my own carelessness or immunity to advice. Sugges- 
tions on portions of the manuscript have been made by 
Professors C. A. Ellwood of the University of Missouri, 
J. H. Breasted of the University of Chicago, A. V. W. 
Jackson of Columbia University, C. M. Sharpe of the 
Missouri Bible College, and J. R. Smith and S. C. Derby 
of the Ohio State University. A wider reading of the 



X PREFACE 

manuscript has been made by Professor Jesse H. Cour- 

sault of the University of Missouri, Professor Arthur E. 

Davies of the Ohio State University, and Professor 

WilHam G. Tousey of Tufts College ; and their keen, 

but sympathetic, criticism has been of especial value. 

I am also indebted to my wife for careful reading of the 

proof and for timely suggestions. 

F. P. G. 
January i, 1909. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

PAGE 

The Study of the History of Education . . . i 
The Value of the History of Education. How to Study It. 

PART I 

NON-PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION 

CHAPTER n 
Savages or Nature Peoples 8 



Nature of Primitive Society. Purpose of Primitive 
Education. Its Organization and Content, its Method. 
Summary of Results. 

CHAPTER III 



Barbarism or Early Civilization . 

The Movement from Nature to Culture. 



CHAPTER IV 

Egypt 

Historical Development. Effect of the Nile upon Eco- 



nomic Development. Religion and Ethics. Classes of 
Society and Position of Women. Cultural Development. 
Education. 



xii CONTENTS 



CHAPTER V 

Babylonia and Assyria 43 

Historical Relations. Social Conditions. Religion and 
Ethics. Culture. Education. 



CHAPTER VI 

Phcenicia 52 

Achievements. Character. Education. 

CHAPTER VII 

China 55 

National Conditions. Religion and Ethics. Culture. 
Education. 

CHAPTER VIII 

India . . . -77 

Effect of Environment. Religion. Social Conditions. 
Education. 

CHAPTER IX 

Persia 91 

Natural Influences. Government. Religion and Ethics. 
Education. 

CHAPTER X 
Character of the Earliest Civilization . . . 104 

Transitional Stage. Restricted Ideals. Occupational 
Content. Memory Method. Sacerdotal Organization of 
Schools. Static Results. 



CONTENTS xiii 

PART II 

THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIVIDUALISM 
IN EDUCATION 

CHAPTER XI 

Israel and Judaea (The Jews) no 

Survey of Jewish History and Religion. Development 
of Israelite Religion. Educational Ideals. Pre-exilic 
Education. Post-exilic Education. Educational Method. 
Effect of Jewish Education on Progress. 

CHAPTER XII 

Sparta and Athens (The Greeks) 138 

Physical and Social Factors in the Progress of the 
Greeks. Outline of Greek History. Education in Pre- 
historic Greece. Older Education of the Historic Period. 
Spartan Education and Its Aim. Infancy. Boyhood and 
Adolescence. Youth and Young Manhood. Citizenship. 
Education of Women. Merits and Defects of Spartan 
Education. Athenian Education in the Old Period. 
Childhood. Boyhood. Adolescence. Youth. Citizen- 
ship. Education of Women. Character of the Old Athe- 
nian Education. Athenian Education in the New Period. 
The Sophists. Reactionary Forces. The Mediators. 
Socrates. Plato. The Republic. Criticism of The Re- 
public. The Laws. Influence of Plato. Aristotle. The 
Ethics and The Politics. Criticism of The Ethics and The 
Politics. Influence of Aristotle. Triumph of Individual- 
ism. Later Greek Education. Philosophical Schools. 
Rhetorical Schools. Universities. Extension of Hellenic 
Culture. Survey of Greek Education. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Rome and the Roman World 230 

Survey of Roman History. Practical Aim of Education 
in Early Rome. Informal Acquisition of Abilities and 



xiv CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Virtues. Imitative Method of Training. Effect of the 
Education of Early Rome. Absorption of Greek Culture. 
Schools of the Hellenized Roman Education. Elementary 
Schools. Grammar Schools. Rhetorical Schools. Edu- 
cation beyond the Rhetorical Schools. Education of 
Women. Education Subsidized and Systematized. Decay 
of Education. Effect of Roman Education upon Civiliza- 
tion. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Early Christianitv 272 

Beginnings of Individualism among the Jews, Greeks, 
and Romans. Larger Ideals of Christianity. Vicious 
Conditions that Christianity Needed to Reform. The 
Earliest Christian Education. The Catechumenal Schools. 
Amalgamation of Christianity with Graeco-Roman Culture. 
The Catechetical, Episcopal, and Cathedral Schools. Op- 
position of Christianity to the Grsco-Roman Culture. 
Influence of Greece and Rome upon Christianity. Effect 
of Organized Christianity upon Society. The Monastic 
Schools. Summary of Pre-mediceval Progress. 

Index 299 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

EDUCATION BEFORE THE MIDDLE 
AGES 

CHAPTER I 

THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

A WELL-KNOWN philosopher ^ has treated the history of 
education as an account of the latest stage in the pro- 
cess of evolution. All the development of the universe 
that had taken place in the stages prior to the advent of 
man might, he thought, be considered as the result of 
a sort of unconscious education. Or better, education 
might be regarded as * conscious evolution,' — the stage 
where the process came to completer consciousness of 
itself and sought to guide itself more definitely. In 
other words, at this point man might be said to take 
himself in hand and endeavor to direct his living toward 
a higher development or ' ideal end.' From such a 

^ Thomas Davidson in A History of Education. Cf. Schmidt, Geschichte 
der P'ddagogik, Vol, I, p. i : " Das Wort Entwicklung verrat das Geheimnis 
alles Lebens," etc. Cf. also Hegel's view of history as ' theophany,' Phi- 
losophy of History, Introduction, III. 



It affords a 
broad sur- 
vey, and 
shows the 
importance 
of the 
teacher. 



2 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

point of view, the purpose of education is to help along 
this latest and highest movement in the working out of 
the world. The teacher's function thus becomes the 
most important of all in society, and the history of edu- 
cation surveys a wider field than any other study in the 
curriculum. 

The Value of the History of Education. — This is an 
inspiring interpretation, but it is hardly necessary to 
plunge very deeply into speculation or to study the 
history of education before man's advent, in order to 
perceive the dignity and importance of the teaching 
profession, or to realize the wide range of perspective 
afforded by a study of educational history. In fact, if 
the history of education is limited to a record of only 
typical instances of the moral, aesthetic, and intellectual 
development of man in all lands and at all periods of 
civilization, and his efforts to evolve ever higher and 
more expanding ideals, the student of this subject will 
find his vision considerably enlarged without reverting 
to the day of the clod, the plant, the amoeba, or our 
simian ancestry. No teacher can make a survey of 
even a limited portion of the development of the educa- 
tional process, which is all that this book attempts, and 
not find his professional view greatly widened, or fail to 
appreciate more fully the part which his calling has 
played in the progress of civilization. 

How to Study It. — But before beginning to study 



THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 3 

the educational procedure of even the earHest man, it 
may be worth while to seek the best avenue of approach 
to so important a subject. The facts connected with 
the educational history of any nation or period are found 
to be so diverse and numerous that one is liable to be 
lost' in the maze unless he holds some silken clew to 
guide him. If we are to regard education as the grad- 
ual realization of a world purpose, and to consider the 
history of education as a history of progress in which 
each nation, period, or theorist described represents Tounder- 

,1 IT . • Stand the 

some stage m the process or embodies some suggestion history of 
of advance or retrogression, the most natural method of ^^"^^^lon, 
procedure is to study each topic from the standpoint of 
progress. 

How, then, is progress effected ? To understand one must 
this, it will be well to see in outline how those social progress is 
and educational ideals that determine progress are ^ff^*^^^^- 
developed. Among every people a number of tradi- 
tional forms of self-expression grow up and gradually 
come to be accepted without question. Such, for ex- 
ample, are their religion and philosophy, their govern- 
ment and pohtical institutions, their literature, art, and 
science, and all the other features of their social and 
economic life. Many influences may be instrumental 
in shaping these traditions, and, so far as they have 
affected them, are worthy of some study in determining 
the traditions themselves. For example, the race, his- 



4 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

tory, geography, climate, and the surrounding peoples 
usually play the greatest part in the evolution of the 
traditions of a nation or period, and must be given due 
consideration. From these racial traditions those which 
seem to be most valuable are more or less consciously 
selected as social and educational ideals for the rising 
generation, who are guided in such a way as to re-live 
the experience. Thus they may be rapidly brought to 
the level of the race without being obliged to pass 
through all the laborious stages of experimentation by 
which the race has achieved its standing. 

The more the traditions and ideals that have thus 
evolved are conformed with, the more firmly they be- 
come fixed as social habits and the more does progress 
in these directions cease. Now, in general, these tra- 
ditional ideals last until, through war, commerce, or 
social contact within the group, there arises a conflict 
with other traditions formed under different conditions, 
when mutual destruction is likely to occur. Then the 
individual, who is always the progressive factor in social 
evolution as opposed to the conservative force of the 
group as a whole, is enabled to select a new form of 
expression from the best elements of the conflicting 
traditions. Social habit again fixes the new form of 
expression, and the individual is emancipated only 
through another mutually destructive conflict. Thus, 
broadly speaking, each period in the development of 



THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 5 

civilization is marked by higher forms of expression 
than the preceding, and society becomes better organ- 
ized and its members more individualized as time goes 
on. Also, as individuals do become more differentiated 
in society, there is a greater conflict of habits within 
the group, and more rapid progress is possible. 

These social traditions, which also become educational And to 

estimate the 

ideals for a nation or period, would, therefore, indicate development 
the stage of development in world progress at which a one must ' 
people have arrived, and the task, in estimating an fi^t know its 

•^ ^ ° educattonal 

epoch, is to discover what are its habitual forms of ««'»»/ 
expression. Hence the thread for which we have been 
looking, that will lead one through the labyrinth of 
facts in the educational history of a period or people 
and enable us to classify them best, seems to lie along 
the way of inquiring the purpose of the education under 
consideration, for purpose unifies the manifold acts of a 
people by giving meaning to them. 

The first step, then, in studying the history of the 
education of any people should be to trace their edu- 
cational aims, and when these can be established, even 
if only tentatively, the next move will naturally be in 
the direction of finding out what attempt was made to 
realize them. This study of the means of accomplish- 
ing an educational purpose may include an investiga- 
tion of at least three main topics, which are closely 
connected. In the first place, one should find out 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



through what accomplishments or knowledge the edu- 
cation under consideration attempts to reproduce in the 
younger generation the best of the racial experiences. 
This educational content may consist of a few simple 
forms of expression, or, if an educational system has 
been fully developed, of the actual course of study. 
Then some attention should be given to the method 
by which the instruction was imparted, although in 
some instances this may be so informal that one would 
not at first perceive that any definite procedure was 
followed. This may involve some study of the spirit, 
ideals, and preparation of the teachers, and their modes 
of punishment or reward. Finally, it is of some im- 
portance to understand the organization and material 
equipment by which the particular type of education 
was carried out, although it may be that the experi- 
ence to be reproduced is so simple that the youth 
could learn it through imitative play or active partici- 
pation in the community. When, however, the ideal 
becomes more complicated and the subjects to be ac- 
quired become more numerous and difficult, regular 
schools are instituted, and the study of organization 
may include a description not only of the school sys- 
tem with the management and the hours of attend- 
ance, but also of the buildings or places for holding 
the schools and an account of the other equipment. 
When the educational system is fairly understood, both 



THE STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 7 

in its purpose and its procedure, the final inquiry will and finally 
naturally be as to its results. Only as its effect upon ' ^"^ ^' 
civilization and the people who employed it is known, 
can its importance as a guide or a warning at the present 
day be rightly estimated. 

But beyond learning and interpreting the facts con- 
nected with the educational purpose of a country, period, 
or individual, and the way in which the attempt was 
made to approach this goal, — i.e. the matter, method, and 
organization of the system, and making some estimate 
of its results, the student of the history of education has 
no direct concern. This classification is quite obvious 
in the earliest types of education, but the more ad- 
vanced the culture, the more complicated does it become. 
But all historical material, however interesting and valu- 
able in other connections, which does not in some way 
contribute to these ends, may safely be neglected in this 
study, as it can throw little or no light upon educational 
problems of the present, past, or future. 



PART I 

NON-PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION 

CHAPTER II 

SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 

"One set of savages is like another," said Samuel 
Johnson, and this dictum of the eighteenth-century sage 
has stood the Jest of modern investigation. The gov- 
ernment, customs, and mentality of all savages have 
proved to be strikingly similar in their simplicity and 
crudity. When the human race is yet in its intellectual 
infancy, which it seems to be in the case of all primitive 
peoples both of the present day and the past,^ society is 
found to be on a comparatively simple basis, and there 
is little differentiation of thought or occupation. 

l-It should be remembered that while there is evidence to show that 
most civilized countries were once occupied by primitive tribes, savagery 
is by no means limited to antiquity. There are many instances of arrested 
social development at the present day, such as the savages of North and 
West Australia, South and West Africa, Malaysia, Tasmania, Sumatra, and 
the Brazilian forests, and it is from these living examples rather than from 
the stone implements and ceremonial objects of the past that we gain our 
best knowledge of savagery. 

8 



SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 9 

Nature of Primitive Society. — In all primitive society The blood 

tie 

there is recognition of no social tie save that of blood, 
and the family, clan, and tribe are the highest form of 
organization of which such peoples are capable. Their 
affections are, therefore, limited to the members of 
their clan, although they usually include in this body 
friendly spirits, especially the ghosts of their ancestors, 
the * totem ' animals or wild beasts from which they 
believe they have sprung, and certain other animals 
which they have tamed or domesticated. 

This belief of the savage in the existence of spirits Animistic 
and his inclusion of lower animals in his clan, grow out 
of that view of the world which is known as animism, 
and which is peculiar to all savages at their earliest 
stage. The savage at first attributes a personality to 
every object, and explains all phenomena of nature as 
if they were demonstrations of some personal will. 
Such an idea cannot, with peoples so crude, be the re- 
sult of metaphysical speculation, as has been the case 
with some similar conceptions ^ of antiquity and modern 
times. It is due to a simple confusion between animate 
and inanimate objects. Through such phenomena as and the 

. . , , concept of 

dreams, unconsciousness from a blow or other cause, the 'double.' 
reflections in the water, shadows, swoons, trances, or 
fancied ghost-seeing, savages come to conceive of the 

1 Cpmpare ' hylozoism ' among the Greeks, and the present-day ' pan- 
psychism ' of Royce. 



lO A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

possibility of a separation of the individual from his 
body, and gradually get to believe that every person 
has another existence outside his visible corporeal one. 
This existence can hardly be thought of as a soul, in 
our sense of the word, for it is not really conceived 
as immaterial. It is only a kind of more attenuated 
* double,' or copy of the body, which exists inside it. 
The conception is then carried over to the lower ani- 
mals and inanimate objects. Cattle, horses, trees, 
stones, and weapons are all regarded as possessing a 
double of this sort. Hence the savage's possessions, 
such as his weapons, utensils, dog, horse, or even wife, 
are often burned or buried with him when he has left 
this life, that, through their doubles, they may continue 
to serve or comfort him in the life to come. 

A further development of animism appears in that 
worship of animals which characterizes the higher 
stages of savagery, and is known as totemism. This 
probably arises, on the one hand, from the close asso- 
ciation of savages with wild animals, and, on the other, 
from the savage's conception of animals as personal 
beings superior, in some respects, to himself. This 
leads to a superstitious reverence for these animals, to 
the savage's naming himself after them, and finally, 
through a confusion of the name with the animal itself, 
to the idea that the persons bearing the name of the 
totem animal are descended from it. Hence the totem 



SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES II 

animal, as well as all who bear his name, is included in 
the membership of the clan. 

A still further outgrowth in savage society, although Ancestor 
it may be considered more characteristic of the stage of ^^'^^ '^* 
human development known as ' barbarism,' is the form 
of religion called ancestor worship } It has already been 
seen how the totem animal worshiped by the members 
of a clan is considered their ancestor. Hence, later on 
in their development when descent comes to be reck- 
oned through fathers,^ nothing is more natural than that 
human ancestors should come to be worshiped instead 
of the mythical animal ancestor. Thus the ghosts of 
ancestors are also included in the clan. 

This animism, totemism, ancestor worship, and other inability to 
nafve explanations illustrate how little ability the primi- forces 
tive mind has to analyze experience, make abstractions 
and generalizations, or formulate laws. So it is that 
while the savage does, to a certain extent, know how to 
use things, he can understand forces but little or not 
at all. Not being able to comprehend such a force 
as fire, his weapons, utensils, and tools are made of 
stone, wood, clay, bone, horn, ivory, or shell, since 

^ For a detailed account of the various types of primitive religion, see 
Spencer, Sociology, Vol. I, Pt. I, Chaps. VIII-XXII. 

2 In the earliest society, it is held by anthropologists, descent is recorded 
only through the female parent, largely because the father is often un- 
known. See Deniker, The Races of Man, p. 233.; 



12 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

these can be shaped without its use, as metals cannot 
be.i 

Since the implements that the true savage is able 
to manufacture are so crude, and because he cannot, 
through a want of abstract thought in other directions, 
understand or anticipate the future, he does not practice 
agriculture to any extent, and is largely confined for his 
subsistence to hunting and fishing and gathering the 
natural products that are at hand. In fact, the chief 
characteristic of savages is their inability to control 
nature, and they are, therefore, because of this bondage, 
often spoken of as ' nature peoples.' 
■ They are on this account inclined to be nomadic, for 
after they have exhausted the fruits of the earth and 
the game in one place, they are obliged to seek them in 
another. In consequence, they dwell in caves, tents of 
skin, or rude huts, and their arts are limited to making 
clothes of wool and skins, roughly shaped utensils for 
domestic use, and implements for hunting and fishing 
and sometimes for war. 

Purpose of Primitive Education. — Because the life 
and thought of savages are so crude and undeveloped, 
histories generally give little or no account of the 

1 Food must at first have been eaten raw, and while there is evidence 
for believing that man early learned to use fire for cooking, it seems that 
he was much later in smelting metals for tools and weapons. See Starr, 
First Steps in Hutnan Progress, Chaps. I-III. 



SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 1 3 

educational process among the most primitive peoples. 
Nevertheless, the very simplicity and uniformity of the 
organization, method, and content of savage education, 
by constituting an instructive contrast to later complexi- 
ties, and affording a means of interpreting them, form 
a natural starting-point for studying the history of 
education, and would seem to be worthy of some 
consideration.^ 

Although primitive education is almost unconscious of Aims to 

, 1 • 1 ^ • satisfy 

its own aim, and cannot be said to possess any genuine immediate 
ideals, political, social, or moral, it must tend to afford a Tp^a^cticai 
training in two different directions. The aim of a primi- education), 
tive people is the satisfaction of immediate wants, and 
the young savage must be taught the occupations of 
his race, in order that he may provide himself with the 
necessaries of life, — food, clothing, and shelter. This 
constitutes his practical education. On the other hand, 
his religion is likewise viewed as a means to a satisfac- 
tion of these physical needs. If the mystic powers are 
appeased, they will serve rather than thwart his purpose. 
He must, therefore, also receive a theoretical training 
in learning how to deal with the unseen. He is shown 
by the medicine-man, exorcist, priest, or whatever the 

^ Dewey, in his Interpretation of Savage Mind (^Psychological Review, 
Vol. IX, p. 217 ff.), makes it clear that the present tendency to interpret 
primitive mentality with civilized mind as a standard, and so in negative 
terms, has prevented us from grasping the genetic significance in the 
process of mental development. 



14 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

and deal interpreter of the invisible may be called, how to explain 

with the un- , . . . 

seen (theo- or interpret nature, how to propitiate the ' spirits or 
ucatk)n).' powers, which, it has been seen, are believed to reside 
in every person, animal, and object, and how to conduct 
the worship of the totem animals or the human ances- 
tors. It may be noted in passing that these explana- 
tions and ceremonials of the medicine-man, crude as 
they are, were the first expressions of that tendency 
from which all forms of human philosophy, religion, 
and science have developed.^ Furthermore, the growth 
of such training has made possible all our progress in 
practical education. 
The family is Its Organization and Content. — Since the racial expe- 

the means of . , i • i • •■• i .• • • • i 

practical ricnce at which primitive education aims is so simple, 
the youth can acquire it largely in imitative play or 
by participation in the activities of the community. 
Hence no schools are needed, and the means of carrying 
out their education, at least as far as the practical side 
is concerned, is through the family, or the clan, which 
is only a larger group supposed to be bound by the 
ties of kinship, and which constitutes the social unit 
in savagery. Through these institutions the young 
savage is taught to obtain the necessaries of life. 
Individuality is as yet at a minimum, since the same 
forms of expression are carried on by all. The only 

1 For the evolution of the theologian, philosopher, and scientist from 
the medicine-man, see Spencer, Sociology, Vol. Ill, Pt. VII, Chap. VI. 



education, 



SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 1 5 

division of labor known to the savage is not a distinc- 
tion between individuals, but that between male and 
female, the stronger sex being the protector and pro- 
vider, and the other caring for the shelter and prepar- 
ing the food and clothing.^ But even at this crude 
economic stage, there has been developed some skill 
in fighting, hunting, and fishing, and in shaping 
weapons and utensils on the one hand, and in tanning 
skins, weaving, and possibly cooking on the other, 
and these arts must be learned by the future men and 
women of the clan. 
; Outside this practical training, a more conscious and and the pu- 

. , • 1 . 11 berty rites of 

formal means of education, largely theoretical, is usually theoretical, 
undertaken by the clan. This is conducted through 
what is known by anthropologists as 'initiatory cere- 
monies' or 'puberty rites.' The boys of the clan, 
at the age of puberty, are definitely instructed by their 
elders, especially the medicine-men, concerning their 
relation to the spirits and their totem animals, and 
acquainted with the religious forms and ceremonies of 
their people. They are also informed concerning their 
associations with the other members of their group, 
such as subordination to elders, relations between the 
sexes, and the sacredness of the clansman's obligations, 
especially loyalty in time of war. Strict silence is 

1 An account of the rise of the sex division of labor is undertaken by 
Thomas in Sex and Society, pp. 123-149. 



error, 



l6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

enjoined upon the candidates concerning the informa- 
tion that is communicated, and to impress it upon 
their minds, and possibly to test their endurance and 
bravery, they are required to fast for several days 
before and after the ceremonies, and are usually 
mutilated in some way. A corresponding initiation is 
given to the girls of the clan under the direction of 
the older women. 
Trial and Its Method. — The method of the savage in acquiring 

his practical education is, to a great extent, that of 
'trial and error.' The learner blindly imitates, with 
little or no consciousness, the act of an older member 
of the family or clan, in hunting or weaving, for 
example, until he meets with some degree of success, 
and the right acts are rendered habitual, and the 
wrong ones eliminated, through the pleasure resulting 
from successful action. But even in this practical 
education the young savage must be taught to perform 
these acts in the exact manner which the experience of 
the tribe, as interpreted by the exorcist or medicine- 
man, has prescribed as being the only way that will 
not offend the spirits connected with the object. 

Summary of Results. — Thus the practical education 
is somewhat regulated by the theoretical. Theoret- 
ical training, however, is not confined to explaining 
the procedure of practical education, as we have seen 
in the case of the initiatory rites, but gives an inter- 



SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 17 

pretation to every experience and problem of life. 
It prescribes the exact method of conducting one's self 
toward the other members of the tribe, and of worship- 
ing or of appeasing the totem animals and the spirits 
on all sorts of occasions. 

While this theoretical education is largely in the 
hands of the medicine-men, under some circumstances 
the head of the family or clan seems to become the 
teacher. Neither the priest nor the patriarch, however, 
assigns to those under his guidance any reason for 
the procedure he prescribes. As in practical education, 
the whole matter is mostly one of unconscious imitation. 

'Thus in all things the savage lives merely from The savage 

11 , T T • -1 ... , , 1 is tied to the 

hand to mouth. His social organization is undeveloped, present, 
he is absolutely incapable of abstract thought, his re- 
ligion is superstitious and crude, his occupations are 
largely limited to securing the products of nature that 
are at hand, and the education he receives is imitative 
and fixed. Because he has not developed sufficiently to 
analyze the conditions about him and pass general 
judgments upon them, or to treasure his results in a 
written language, literature, and historic records, he 
has little idea of the past or future, and is practically 
tied to the present. Therefore, looking upon his phys- 
ical and social surroundings as unchanging through 
all time, he seeks no control over nature, and secures 
his education, both practical and theoretical, by follow- 



1 8 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

ing the example of the tribal exorcists and elders. 
and no de- Since he is completely bound down by nature and 
indl^duaHty the customs of the society in which he lives, the 
exists. habitual forms of expression are the same for all 

savages of the same sex, and no real developme^it of 
individuality exists. The welfare of the individual is 
never even considered, except as a member of the 
clan. Such a training must be conspicuously non-pro- 
gressive. Not until people have come to see beyond 
the present and control their environment to some ex- 
tent, do they reach to even a slight degree of culture 
or civilization. They remain savages, or children of 
nature. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Brinton, D. G. Basis of Social Relations. 

Brinton, D. G. Races and Peoples. 

Chamberlain, A. F. The Child. A Study of the Evolution of 

Man. Chap. VIII. 
Davidson, T. A History of Educatio7t. Bk. I, Chap. III. 
Deniker, J. The Races of Matt. Chaps. V- VI I. 
Letourneau, C. Devolution de ^education dans les diverses races 

humaifies. Chaps. II-VIII. 
Lubbock, J. Prehistoric Times. Chaps. I and XII-XV. 
Monroe, P. Text-Book in the History of Education. Chap. I. 
Morgan, L. H. Ancient Society. Pt. I, Chaps. I-II, and Pt. II, 

Chaps. I-II. 
Spencer, H. Principles of Sociology. Vol. I, Pt. I, Chaps. V- 

XXVI, and Vol. Ill, Pt. VII. 



SAVAGES OR NATURE PEOPLES 1 9 

Starr, F. Some First Steps in Human Progress. Chaps.. I, II, 

XII, XIII, XXI, XXII, xxiv-xxyi. ' 

Thomas, W. I. Sex and Society. Especially pp. 55-172. 
Tylor, E. B. Anthropology. Chaps. I, IV-XII, and XIV. 
Tylor, E. B. Primitive Ctilture. Chaps. II and XI-XVIII. 
Tylor, E. B. Researches into the Early History of Mankind. 
Chaps. VII-X. 



CHAPTER III 



BARBARISM OR EARLY CIVILIZATION 



Barbarism as 
a transitional 
stage. 



Similarity 
among 
Oriental 
nations. 



The Movement from Nature to Culture. — The prog- 
ress of the human race from nature to culture — sav- 
agery to civilization — is very gradual, and the dividing 
line is difficult to draw. To make the process clearer, 
and also for the convenience of classifying a number 
of peoples who have evidently passed beyond most of 
the characteristics of savagery and yet can hardly be 
called civilized, many ethnologists ^ and historians rec- 
ognize the stage known as ' barbarism.' 

^Whether we use the term ' barbarism ' or not, it is 
easily seen that there are many and varied nations 
which fall under the head of this transitional stage. 
While, however, they represent several races and a 
large number of influences, the most typical have all 
been located in the Orient, and their social character- 
istics are sufficiently alike to justify treating them in 
a single group. Their similarity in educational pro- 
cedure has appeared so great to some writers, that 
they suggest the omission, in studying, of all these 

^ Compare Tyler, Anthropology, p. 24; Morgan, Ancient Society, Chap. 
I; etc. 



BARBARISM OR EARLY CIVILIZATION 21 

nations save one, or actually limit their treatment to 
a single nation as typical of all.^ It has, however, 
seemed well to describe here briefly, in their historical 
order, the more important peoples of barbarism, or 
early civihzation, and afterward endeavor to sum up 
their common characteristics. The diversities, after all, 
are worthy of some consideration, as each seems to 
emphasize more strongly than the others some pecul- 
iarity of barbarism, and it would be difficult to state 
what nation should be made the type. If, however, 
it is felt that these systems are of little value in a 
general history of education, the attention can easily 
be confined to Egypt as historically the most obvious 
type of transition, and the final statement of features 
in common 2 may be used as a sufficient summary of 
the other nations. 

1 See Monroe, Text-book in the History of Education; Seeley, History 
of Education, p. 5; and the remarks of A. O, Norton in School Review^ 
Vol. XII, p. 823. 

2 See Chap. X. 



CHAPTER IV 

EGYPT 

Historical Development. — Egypt furnishes us with 
abundant evidence of the early day at which she 
passed beyond the stage of savagery. Thousands of 
Egyptian manuscripts, monuments, and mummies, pre- 
served by the dry air and sand, by solidity of structure, 
or care in embalming, witness the extent to which her 
civilization was developed tens of centuries before the 
earliest epochs in Greece. The history of this ancient 
country extends from the days before the * dynasties,' 
5000 B.C., down to its decline and final conquest by 
the Persians in 525 B.C., after which the identity of its 
civilization was lost. It passed through a number of 
periods in its development, each of which is fairly dis- 
tinct in its characteristics, but there is an underlying 
unity throughout the entire history of ancient Egypt, 
The social, political, and intellectual conditions of each 
epoch are clearly implicit in the one just before it, and 
up to the beginning of the period of decadence there is 
a constant growth in all the marks of its peculiar civili- 
zation. 

22 



EGYPT 23 

Effect of the Nile upon Economic Development. — The Fertility of 

the soil. 

interest which the Egyptians showed in various lines of 
development, and the extent to which they carried them, 
were determined in large measure by the peculiar topog- 
raphy of the country. The statement of the old Greek 
traveler, Herodotus, that " Egypt was the gift of the 
river," is true in a wider sense than he intended it. It 
is obvious that geologically Egypt is the product of the 
Nile. Every year, after the snow has melted and the 
spring rains have set in, the river reaches its height and 
appears like a vast lake. Then it gradually recedes and 
leaves behind a rich deposit of black mud, which it has 
gathered from the mountains in the south. The natural 
fertility of such a soil, increased by the evenness and 
warmth of the climate, has caused Egypt, from the days 
of the youthful Joseph, and even before, to be known as 
a land of steady and plentiful crops. 

The Nile was largely instrumental also in determin- skiiiin 
ing the industrial and intellectual characteristics of the ^"^'"^^ 
people. The Egyptians found it necessary to regulate 
its waters in order to secure the best results. They had 
to construct irrigation canals, to conduct the river at its 
flood into reservoirs and then out into the fields wher- 
ever it was most needed. Their most striking feat of 
this sort occurred early in their history, when they re- 
claimed an arid tract called Fayum,i some seven hun- 

^ It is not certainly known whether the original flooding of the Fayfim 
was effected by natural or artificial processes. The lake of historic times 



24 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

dred square miles, by constructing a canal through the 
limestone hills. They also invented devices to raise the 
water from the canals to the level of the more distant 
fields as the Nile gradually receded. Other difficulties, 
such as the arrangement of dikes and the location of 
landmarks, must have been overcome, and Egypt was 
thus forced by her river to become the mother of en- 
gineering. 

By affording a means of transportation the Nile was 
of great assistance to trade and industry, and likewise 
enabled the Egyptians to become more homogeneous. 
It furnished a roadway seven hundred and fifty miles 
long, which connected all parts of the country. They 
were able to float huge blocks of stone down from the 
quarries of the south, thus facilitating greatly the prog- 
ress of architecture, and other intercourse between the 
various communities was active. This must have done 
much to moderate the local differences and jealousies 
that would naturally exist in a country so long and 
straggling. 

fAs a whole, however, Egypt was quite isolated from 
the rest of the world. Although she had easy access to 
the Mediterranean, there were no harbors on the Delta, 
while the Red Sea, which led to the Indian Ocean and 
the East, was distant three or four days' journey through 

called Moeris was pushed back by retrenchment walls, and its eventual 
destruction was due to the decay of the embankment through neglect. 



EGYPT 25 

the desert, and the 'cataracts' of the Nile made it 
difficult to approach the countries south of Egypt 
Similarly, outside influences were slow in affecting the 
Egyptians, as whatever foreigners found their way in 
from Asia, Libya, or Nubia, were so few at any time 
that they were easily assimilated.^ Their long seclusion 
had its effect in developing a unique type of civilization, 
with cultural products peculiar to themselves. 

Religion and Ethics. — The religious conceptions of Worship of 
the Egyptians, also, were affected by their natural sur- ^he sun. 
roundings. Their earhest deities were the Sun {Re^), 
who was universally popular, and the Nile {Hapi\ 
toward which they usually faced their temples. A 
myth that became fully as widespread as that of Re 
dealt with Osiris (Sun), his sister-wife, Isis (Dawn), 
and his hostile brother. Set (Darkness). Other cults 
connected with the sun, such as those of Hojnts, Amon, 
and Aten, sprang up, but nearly every locality differed 
in the names, attributes, and powers that it assigned to 
the sun god. When the gods of the various districts 
were gradually identified and their names made inter- 
changeable, the Egyptian theogony became hopelessly 

^ The Egyptians, however, learned to use to the utmost their meager 
facilities. As early as 2900 B.C. they had commerce with Syria and other 
countries on the Mediterranean. By the time of the Empire (1600- 
iioo B.C.) they had communication with most of the known world, and 
were in turn largely modified in their customs and progress, especially 
through Semitic influence. - 2 Pronounced Ray. 



26 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



involved. From this condition it was apparently extri- 
cated by the development of a henotheism, with Re, or 
some other god, as the head of the hierarchy. Although 
the Egyptians never became acute in their meditation 
and reasoning, the more enlightened may thus have 
come to conceive of God as one, though worshiped 
under many aspects, and to interpret the various myths 
in a metaphorical sense. The religion of the common 
people, however, was much lower. They regarded cer- 
tain animals not merely as symbols of the gods, but as 
actual deities, and eventually worshiped them. 

Yet belief in a future existence was universal. A 
small statue of the deceased was set up in the tomb as 
an habitation for his ka, or double, and the body was 
mummified, that the ka might one day return and 
revivify it. While this life after death was, in the old- 
est period, viewed as uneventful and sad, before long 
its nature was supposed to depend upon the judg- 
ment passed upon one at his trial before Osiris in the 
Lower World. If it were favorable, he might be al- 
lowed to dwell in the pleasant fields of Aarii, or share 
in the life of the sun god. 

On the whole, however, the religion of the Egyptians 
was viewed as a means of propitiation, that their prac- 
tical needs might not be interfered with, and it had 
little effect upon conduct. If we may judge from the 
Cottfessions before Osiris, the Book of the Dead, the 



EGYPT 27 

Aphorisms of Ptah-hotep, and other* moral works that 
have been found, their ethical doctrines were prudential 
and sordid. Personal conduct was prescribed largely 
as a key to success ; friendship was considered useful, 
but not a matter for devotion ; the grosser crimes and 
vices were forbidden, but self-sacrifice and purity were 
not enjoined ; and dealings with the gods were described 
as compacts. "Sacrifice," says a maxim of Ani, "for 
God looks on the offerer, but he neglects those who 
neglect him." Moreover, as in the case of all moral 
systems that are imposed by some outside sanction 
rather than developed from within, the ethics of the 
Egyptians became a veneer under which lay much vain- 
glory, hypocrisy, and immorality. 

Classes of Society and Position of Women. -^As would Privileges of 

, 1 . , . . I'll the sacer- 

be expected m so religious a country, the priesthood dotal and 
finally became the controlling element in Egypt. It ^asse7 
possessed most of the wealth and learning, and held 
many of the political offices. Before the differentiation 
of the professional priest, the sacerdotal class performed 
the functions of not only priests and prophets, but of 
many professional people, such as lawyers, doctors, 
embalmers,^ architects, and scribes. By the time of 
the Empire (1600-1100 b.c), however, the military 
class, which was made up of all types of soldiery, in- 
cluding the complement for the navy, became nearly 

1 An important profession in Egypt, ranking as a sort of medical specialty. 



28 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

equal to the sacerdotal in privilege. Both classes were 
exempt from taxation, and from their number came the 
king. The rest of the people, who composed the in- 
dustrial class, were obliged to support these higher 
classes, construct the public works, and carry all the 
other burdens of state. Yet they had definite rights 
guaranteed them by law. 

While the classes were well separated early in the 
history of Egypt, their number and relative importance 
varied from time to time. Distinctions grew up espe- 
cially within the industrial class. At no time, however, 
was the division between classes absolutely fixed, and 
no real caste system prevailed. While a son generally 
followed the occupation of his father, he might through 
education rise into a higher class. 

Also in the social position allowed to women, Egypt 
was more advanced than most Oriental countries. As 
a rule, a man had but one wife, who was recognized as 
' mistress of the household,' and, if we may judge from 
statuary, was treated with great affection. Ptah-hotep 
gravely advises : " If thou art successful and lovest the 
wife of thy bosom, fill her stomach and clothe her back. 
Make glad her heart during the time thou hast." The 
kings and some wealthy men had concubines, but even 
then the women were not veiled or immured. Women 
were allowed some education, although it never extended 
beyond the rudiments. 



EGYPT 29 

Cultural Development. — The advance for which Advance in 

architecture 

Egypt has been most famed was in architecture. This 
also was closely connected with religion, and seems to 
have consisted mostly of temples and tombs, as there 
are few evidences of domestic or palatial buildings to be 
found. The temples were at first rude structures of 
wood or wicker, but before long were built of stone, and 
continued to increase in number and magnificence. 
The climax was reached in the later Empire through the 
completion by Ramses II of the temple of Amon, or 
' Hall of Columns,' at Karnak, " the greatest of man's 
architectural works," the elaborate temple at Luxor,^ 
the temple cut from the living rock at Abu Simbel, and 
the Ramesseum, or mortuary temple of the monarch on 
the plain of Thebes. 

The Egyptian temples were grand in conception and Conven- 
massive in proportions.^ The great structure at Karnak temples' ° 
is judged to have been a quarter of a mile long, with a 
main entrance of 379 feet, which would make it more 
than twice the size of St. Peter's at Rome. But the de- 
velopment of architecture in these enormous buildings 
was limited, for they were all of practically the same 
conventional type. They were intended not merely as 

^ Karnak was begun in the Middle Kingdom, and Luxor probably so. 

2 Karnak depends upon mass for its effect, but Amen-hotep Ill's col- 
onnades at Luxor depend upon form. Contrary to the general impression, 
Luxor exhibits much greater architecture than Karnak. The 'climax' 
was reached in the Eighteenth Dynasty. 



30 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

sanctuaries, but as monuments to the sovereigns who 
built them. In front of the entrance gateway stood 
twin colossal statues of the monarch, together with a 
pair of obelisks bearing in hieroglyphics a glorification 
of his victories and achievements. The gateways were 
always flanked with towers, and, as luxury grew, the 
entrances were increased to two or three, which were 
often separated by avenues of sphinxes. 

tombs, (Owing to the solemn prominence connected by the 

Egyptians with the thought of death, the tomb domi- 
nated even the temple. Diodorus said, " The Egyptians 
call their houses hostelries, on account of the short time 
during which they inhabit them, but the tombs they call 
eternal dwelling-places." In the earliest days the tomb 
was only an oblong pile of stones to protect the body 
which had been placed below in a chamber hollowed out 
of the rock. But the tomb was also used as a place 
where the friends of the deceased could make offerings 
to his ka and recite a ritual. So, while remaining of 
the same type architecturally, it soon became a vast 
structure of stone, sometimes having as many as thirty 
chambers. It contained a species of conventional 
chapel, which was adorned with scenes from the life 
of the deceased. 

and The pyramids, of which remains of seventy or more 

still exist, are the most impressive of all Egyptian struc- 
tures. They should, however, be considered achieve- 



EGYPT 31 

ments of engineering rather than of architecture. One ^ 
of them is 755 feet square at the base, and rises to a 
height of 481 feet. It is faced on all four sides with 
limestone blocks so beautifully joined as to appear like 
a single surface. The pyramids were erected as tombs 
for the royal mummies, and, except for differences in 
size and material, are all alike. 

The temples and tombs of the Egyptians were adorned Formalism of 

. , . . T r T A 1 • • • painting and 

With pamtings, reliefs, and statuary. As their pamtmg sculpture. 
was done in outline only, it was the same in principle as 
the relief in their sculpture, except that it was more 
rapid, cheaper, and less durable. A king's tomb, which 
was always supposed to be carved in relief, if left 
unfinished, often had the design completed in painting 
by his successor. 

Besides this lack of development, the outline, whether 
painted or in relief, was thoroughly formulaic. All 
figures had as far as possible to make every part of the 
body appear in profile, and they were all supposed to 
face toward the right, with the further foot and arm in 
advance. This always gives a stiffness and unnatural- 
ness to Egyptian figures ; and where the artist was 
obliged to face his figure toward the left and simply 
reversed the design, the effect is sometimes ludicrous. 

1 The three 'great pyramids' are those of Khiifu (Cheops) and his 
immediate successors in the Fourth Dynasty, and are located at Gtzeh, 
almost north of Memphis. 



32 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Practically every picture, too, had its typical method of 
representation, which the artist was required to follow. 
During the Empire a realistic school of artists flourished 
to some extent, but was eventually crushed out. 

Egyptian statuary also was bound by social custom. 
The two classes of works that have been found, — 
portrait statues for the inner chambers of the tombs, 
and decorative statues of gods, kings, and sacred animals 
for the temples, have but two types of representation. 
Although their portraiture reveals the first emergence of 
individuality, until the time of the Empire the treatment 
of details, with the exception of the face, is generally as 
stereotyped as that of the position. 

In other technical lines the Egyptians showed much 
practical skill, if we may judge from pictures and 
descriptions that have come down to us and objects 
that have been found. At an early day they learned to 
make bricks and mortar from the mud of the Nile. 
They worked granite and other stone of the greatest 
resistance, made the sharpest details, and gave a finish- 
ing polish. The smelting of metals was understood by 
them. They manufactured glass as early as the First 
Dynasty ; and their skill in glazing beads, amulets, 
bowls, and vases, so as to resemble the most costly 
gems, and in preparing enamels for the work of the 
goldsmith, has commanded the admiration of modern 
experts. They invented a potter's wheel and baked the 



EGYPT 33 

clay in a stove, but their product, though durable, was 
not of a high order. The papyrus was manufactured by 
them into paper, mats, ropes, sandals, and boats, and 
they were dexterous in weaving and coloring baskets, 
mats, and clothing. Their fine white linen was famous. 

In the sciences, too, the Egyptians made considerable Empiricism 
progress. Skill in engineering was forced upon them by sciences, 
irrigation problems, and the erection of the pyramids, the 
obelisks, and the supporting columns of the temples. 
This knowledge was purely practical and was discovered 
empirically. The mathematics underlying it was not 
a genuine science. Their methods in arithmetic were 
cumbrous, and small account was taken of fractions. In 
geometry, so necessary for surface measurement, there 
was little theory, although their procedure was accurate 
enough for practical results. Astronomy must have 
been developed early as a means of calculating the 
Nile's annual overflow and marking religious festivals. 
However, while they devised the calendar of 365 days 
more than four thousand years before Christ, they con- 
tinued to believe in 'lucky' and 'unlucky' days, accord- 
ing as they were connected with various mythological 
events. Their knowledge of medicine, which on the 
empirical side was not inconsiderable, was likewise con- 
fused with incantation, superstition, and disgusting com- 
pounds.i The Egyptians also held music, both sacred 

^ Putrid meat, lizard's blood, swine's teeth, and dung were often ingredients. 

D 



34 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Literature 
was stereo- 
typed and 
stilted. 



Education 
was priestly, 
practical, and 
professional. 



and secular, in high esteem, but the rules for its com- 
position were prescribed and rigid. 

The literature of the Egyptians was extensive. Be- 
sides the works on religion , morals, and practical pur- 
suits, they wrote fairy tales, travelers' stories, novels, 
school books, lettefsf^^^ncsTand hymns to the gods and 
kings. While these works were the first in the history of 
literature to disclose the development of the individual, 
from a modern point of view they seem stereotyped, 
lacking in wit and description, and forced and stilted in 
style. The fiction is uninteresting and licentious. The 
hymns, except, perhaps, that of Amen-hotep IV, are 
lacking in devotional spirit, and consist largely of hyper- 
boles and conventional phrases without much meaning. 
The school books are in the form of an ' instruction ' 
from some wise ruler or teacher to his son or pupil. One 
of the most interesting is that found in the Sallier papy- 
rus, in which the wise Dauuf thus describes to his son 
the advantages of the literary life : " Give thy heart to 
learning and love her like a mother, for there is nothing 
that is so precious as learning," and so on. As a rule, 
these instructions struggle after a fixed style and harp 
tediously on the same ideas. 

Education. Its Purpose. — The education of the Egyp- 
tians has been variously spoken of as ' priestly,' ' prac- 
tical,' or 'professional.' From the foregoing account 
of their history, life, and customs can be seen the signifi- 



EGYPT 35 

cance of each of these terms as descriptive of the forms 
of expression at which their education aimed. Inasmuch 
as the sacerdotal class possessed the learning, did the 
imparting, and dominated the state, the education of the 
times may well be called priestly. Again, education, 
which was always highly esteemed, was considered im- 
portant entirely because of its practical value. It was 
intended simply to equip one with some professional 
skill that was in demand, such as that of the engineer, 
architect, physician, scribe, soldier, musician, or artisan, 
and thus help him to lead as happy a life as possible in 
this world, and secure the good-will of the gods in the 
life to come. It was also indispensable to office, and 
might enable one to attain a higher position in life than 
that of his father. " The ignorant man, whose name is 
unknown," according to one papyrus, "is like a heavily 
laden donkey ; he is driven by the scribe." And another 
advises, '* Set to work and become a scribe, for then thou 
shalt be a leader of men." The idea of a liberal educa- 
tion, however, never impressed itself upon the Egyp- 
tians. Such a notion as the search after truth for its 
own sake, without utilitarian motive, or the idea of edu- 
cating for good citizenship or manhood, still awaited a 
time when people allowed freer play to individuality. 

Its Organization and Content. — - School hfe began as Elementary 
soon as the child passed out of infancy, at five years of ^as^poss^bie 
age. School hours lasted half the day. The state did ^°^ ^^^' 



36 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

not provide an educational system for the masses, but 

teachers were always to be had, and at a reasonable 

price, so that any clever boy might obtain a training in 

the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic. 

while higher In the chief cities of the various districts, more ad- 

the temples vanccd instruction leading to the different professions 

furnished could be obtained at the temples. The chief colleges 

training for -f^ ° 

the scribes, ^gj-g at the temples of Ptah at Memphis, Re at Heli- 
opolis, and Amon at Thebes. During the early days 
boys of good family were often educated at the court 
with the sons of the king, and later the various depart- 
ments of administration came more and more to educate 
the candidates for their respective official positions. 
Education was always for a specific profession, and 
very seldom did a young man change to some other line 
than that for which he had been trained. 

The most general profession was that of the scribe. 
It was the first step on the ladder of learning, and the 
beginning of official advancement. While scribes were 
not needed because of the ilHteracy of the people, there 
was a wide field for the profession. There were sacred 
manuscripts and official documents to be copied, estates 
and storehouses to be managed by those who under- 
stood accounts, and military, civil, royal, and priestly 
offices that needed skilled administration. The notarial, 
or lower-class scribe, after receiving an elementary 
education, usually secured his special training through 



EGYPT 37 

apprenticeship in an office, where he learned to write 
the proper forms and legal documents, and to acquire 
the hieratic, or cursive, handwriting. One who was 
ambitious to become a scribe of the higher class went 
to a temple college, and here, besides learning the hiero- 
glyphic, the hieratic, and, during the later Empire, the 
still more abbreviated demotic, writing, he was trained 
in ethics, philosophy, and good manners, and studied 
law and administration. 

fin addition to the attainments of the scribe as a basis, architects. 
each of the other professions had a specific training of and^prksts. 
its own at the temple colleges. The architects learned, 
besides mathematics and mechanics, much that was of 
a sacred or historic nature. The physicians were taught 
crude anatomy and physiology, the use of remedies and 
incantations, and in some cases received special training 
on various organs, such as the eyes, brain, teeth, and 
intestines. The priests were given a thorough ground- 
ing in the old religious documents, ritual and cere- 
monies, law, mathematics, astronomy, and astrology, and 
all the other learning of the times. 

Its Method. — Not much is known concerning the Memoriter 
methods of teaching in Egypt, but considerable time methods o/^ 
must have been spent in learning the hieroglyphs, ^^^^^'"s- 
The Egyptians had reason to be proud of these char- 
acters, which were of their own invention, and were, in 
spite of their complexity, very easy to read; but the 



38 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

acquisition of some five hundred or one thousand char- 
acters was no small task for the memory. During the 
early Empire, too, the hieratic also came into use and 
had to be learned. The schoolboy at first imitated with 
a stylus upon a wooden tablet the copy that had been 
set for him. As soon as he could write, he was pro- 
moted to transcribe or write from dictation upon papyrus 
passages from some poem, story, religious work, school 
book of the type called an * instruction, '^ or some other 
good literature. By this means the pupils improved 
their calligraphy and style. Their literary training 
must have been carried on largely by imitation, as no 
vestige of a grammar or lexicon has yet been discovered 
in Egypt. Large numbers of their copy books, how- 
ever, have been found in rubbish heaps. These books 
are easily distinguished by the master's corrections, in- 
dicated upon the upper edge of the pages. On the 
reverse side of the papyrus are often found bills for 
invoices of corn, business letters, and other practical 
work, written by the pupils. Any further instruction 
consisted, as has been seen, in learning a profession, 
also through memory and imitation from the priests at 
one of the temple colleges or from one of the higher 
officials of a governmental department. 

Learning by such methods must have been tedious, 
and discipline had to be severe. A pedagogical maxim 

1 See p. 34. 



EGYPT 39 

of the time was, "A boy's ears are on his back; he 
hears when he is beaten." Reprimands were also used 
as a corrective, and a youth could be punished by con- 
finement to the temple for three months. 

Influence of Egyptian Education and Culture upon Great ad- 
Civilization. — A great deal has been said, especially times, 
in ancient times, about the * learning of the Egyptians.' ^ 
In comparison with other nations of their time, this 
fame was undoubtedly deserved. The needs of the 
country and their isolation from other nations forced 
a higher development, and they contributed greatly to 
the advancement of civilization and education, but their 
achievements should not be exaggerated. 

(The limitations of their activities can easily be seen, but limited 
Engineering and the other sciences, while appearing veiopment. 
for the first time in history, were at the empirical stage, 
and were, in most cases, somewhat mixed with supersti- 
tion. The industrial arts, as well as painting, relief, and 
sculpture, had not received much development, with the 
exception of their glazed work and enameling, and there 
was an inclination to follow stereotyped rules. Even 
their grand architecture, with all its elaborations, was in 
the main conventional and fixed. Similarly, while their 
thoughts and history were recorded, and they were the 
first people to have a large and varied literature, it is repe- 
titious and tiresome, and the style is prescribed and stilted. 

1 Compare Acts, VII, 22, 



40 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Again, while the Egyptians held to a rude belief in 
immortality, and in the case of the priesthood at least 
had begun to regard God as one, their rehgion never 
rose beyond a personification of natural forces at the 
best and a species of animal worship at the worst. 
Their profound religious awe, while an advance on the 
superstitions of animism, totemism,and ancestor worship, 
must not be mistaken for an outcome of philosophy or 
analytic thought. Likewise, their religion seldom bore 
any intimate relation to conduct,^ and their teachings 
were largely prudential and imposed in the form of 
precept without any appeal to one's inner light. 

As a result of the dominance of their superstitious 
religion, although the classes of society were not organ- 
ized as an iron-clad system, such as sometimes occurs at 
this stage of development, they were so arranged as to 
suppress the individual and give practical control to the 
politico-religious priesthood. Similarly, women were held 
in subjection. They were not regarded as the slaves or 
toys of men, as in some countries of antiquity, but they 
were not allowed much freedom or intellectual training. 

The type of education which prevailed among the 
Egyptians was the result of the social stage they were 
in, and was, in turn, somewhat calculated to perpetuate 
it. By means of education the professions were to be 

^ At one period, however, religion must have had a close connection 
with conduct to have given rise to the elaborate confession in the Book 
of the Dead. 



EGYPT 41 

handed down, and with them the class distinctions that 
were connected. The teaching class, however, had not 
yet been differentiated from the priesthood, although 
it was recognized that instruction could no longer be 
carried on in the family. Their method, while some- 
what more conscious than mere imitation, did not recog- 
nize individuality and was not yet a matter of genuine 
rationality. Their complex system of writing and their 
body of traditions required a tremendous effort of mem- 
ory to learn, which prevented an intellectual develop- 
ment of more value. 

With this system of education, great advancement Some effect 
was impossible for Egypt. She produced, to be sure, progress 
through the commerce of the Phoenicians, considerable ph^^ciarTs 
effect upon the art, learning, and religion of the Greeks ^"^ *^ 
and other later peoples, and thus contributed her share 
to the world's progress. But while in many of the fun- 
damentals hers was the earliest civilization, it was, after 
all, but the first link in the chain. New ideals and forms 
of expression were needed before civilization could con- 
tinue its onward march. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

DiODORUS, Bk. I; EuSEBius, Fragments; HERODOTUS, Bk. II; 
Manetho, Fragments ; Plutarch, /szs and Osiris ; Strabo, 
Bk. XVII. 



42 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

II. Authorities 

Breasted, J. H, A History of the Egyptians. 

Brugsch-Bey, H. Egypt utider the Pharaohs (translated). 

Edwards, Amelia B. Pharaohs, Fellahs, and Explorers. 

Erman, a. Life in Ancient Egypt (translated). 

Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Hamitic Races. 

Maspero, G. E Archeologie Egyptienne. 

Maspero, G. The Dawn of Civilization in the East (translated). 

Petrie, Flinders. History of Egypt. 

Petrie, Flinders. Religion and Conscience in Ancient Egypt. 

Rawlinson, G. The Story of Ancient Egypt. 

Renouf, p. Le p. The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illus- 
trated by the Religion of Ancient Egypt. 

Schmidt, K. Geschichte der Pddagogik, Vol. I, Chap. I, pp. 194- 
250. 

Wilkinson, J. G. The Manners and Customs of the Attcient 
Egyptians. 



CHAPTER V 

BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 

Historical Relations. — The history of Babylonia must 
have begun a little after 3000 b.c.^ Her empire, how- 
ever, came before that of Egypt, for from 2300 to 1600 
B.C., beginning with the reign of the famous Hammu- 
rabi, Babylonia had extended not only over all the 
Euphrates-Tigris district, but throughout Syria. Dur- 
ing the rule of the Kassite kings, however, the country 
was greatly weakened, and the city of Assur revolted 
and eventually developed into the kingdom of Assyria. 
Then for several centuries Babylonia and Assyria 
were on terms of equality and diplomacy, broken more 
or less by short wars for supremacy, but Assyria 
gradually rose to preeminence, until in the tenth cen- 
tury she had begun to extend her sway over Babylonia 
and the other surrounding nations, and by 670 B.C. 
possessed the greatest empire known until that time. 
However, her splendor faded rapidly. Before the close 
of the century the mighty empire fell to pieces under 

1 Recent discovery has at last settled the age of Babylonian civilization. 
Its earliest monuments do not extend back to 3000 B.C. See Breasted, 
A History of the Egyptians (second edition), pp. viii, 419 ff., and 443. 

43 



44 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the joint attack of the Medes and her southern 
province, Babylonia, which was at that time dominated 
by the fierce Chaldeans. Chaldean Babylonia then 
enjoyed a brief period of restored magnificence, but in 
538 B.C. the Medes, now combined with the Persians, 
completely crushed their former ally. 

Thus Babylonia and Assyria seem to be complemen- 
tary in their history, which lasts from 3000 to 538 B.C. 
They may well be considered together, especially as 
Assyria borrowed the Babylonian learning without 
making any important contribution in return. The 
Babylonio-Assyrian civilization was, as a whole, quite 
similar to that of Egypt, which has been described at 
length, and therefore, while of great historic importance 
in itself, will not need an extended account here. 

Social Conditions. — ^ The classes of society in Baby- 
lonia and Assyria were about as distinct as in Egypt, 
and the influence of the priests, who also constituted 
the judges, scribes, librarians, teachers, authors, and 
other professional men, was almost as pervasive. They 
ranked, with the nobility, next to the king, and while 
Babylonia, and even more Assyria, attached greater 
importance to military affairs than did Egypt, the 
soldiers never reached the social dignity of the priest- 
hood. The common people seldom owned land and 
were never allowed any part in public affairs. Since, 
however, both countries were very accessible, and found 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 45 

it desirable to exchange their agricultural products and 
manufactures for the stone, wood, and metals they 
lacked, their commerce expanded early, and the impor- 
tance of merchants, tradesmen, and artisans increased 
until they were almost equal in rank with the privileged 
classes. Certainly society never stratified into castes. Subordina^ 
Also women were treated with more consideration than 



women. 



in most Oriental nations, but, as in Egypt, a wealthy 
man might have concubines, and women were com- 
pletely under the control of their husbands. 

Religion and Ethics. — The Babylonio-Assyrian reli- Nature 

worship, 

gion was as crude as the Egyptian in its formulation. 
At the earliest period it consisted in a worship of arbi- 
trary spirits, who could be exorcised by formulae. 
While these demons evolved into gods who typified 
great natural forces, such as the sun, moon, and stars, 
and the rain, storm-wind, and watery deep, it was still be- 
lieved necessary to get into harmony with them through 
astrology and magic. At first, as in Egypt, each Baby- 
lonian city had its own temples and gods, but gradually, 
as the cities were unified, a pantheon with a supreme 
god was organized. This chief deity was Bel of Nippur 
until Babylon rose to prominence and made Marduk 
supreme. Assyria accepted the pantheon, but placed 
her own god, Askur, at the head. Probably, as in 
Egypt, through this henotheism, the priesthood and henotht. 
more intelligent people came to believe in a single 



46 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



supreme being, of whom the other gods were merely 
aspects, and, without giving up their augury and magic, 
dimly apprehended the ideas of sin, penitence, and 
dependence on God. This led to some moral aspira- 
tion, but unfortunately they were still unable to distin- 
guish between ceremonial and ethical transgressions, 
and fear remained their moral motive. Superstitious 
observances continued to cloak cruelty, treachery, and 
sensuality. Their idea of the future life was generally 
less hopeful than that of the Egyptians. Except in the 
Gilgamesh Epic, they described the abode of the dead 
as dark and dreary. 

Culture. — In their other intellectual activities the 
Babylonio-Assyrians were likewise defective. They 
achieved much in science, but altogether empirically 
and with a curious admixture of superstition. Both 
countries were covered each spring with a rich alluvial 
deposit from the Tigris and Euphrates, and, as in 
Egypt, the inhabitants were compelled to become 
skilled in all forms of engineering. Similarly, arith- 
metic, geometry, and mechanics made some progress, 
but were entirely practical. They had a complicated 
numerical system, compounded of the decimal and sexa- 
gesimal, and crude measures of length, area, capacity, 
and weight, derived from handbreadth as a standard. 
Geometry was used, but largely for mapping out the 
heavens in augury. They made many astronomical 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 47 

discoveries, such as the movements of the heavenly 
bodies, the calendar year, and the calculation of 
eclipses, invented the signs of the zodiac, and named 
the points of the compass and several constellations, 
but astronomy had not yet evolved from astrology, and 
they used this knowledge mainly for horoscopes and 
divination. In their theory the earth was an inverted 
bowl with the edges resting on the waters ; mankind 
dwelt upon the outside and the dead within the crust ; 
while above was the heaven, another bowl, on the under 
side of which moved the heavenly bodies. Likewise, 
medicine could not become a genuine science with 
them, for they attributed all diseases to evil spirits, and 
while some real remedies were discovered by chance, 
their treatment often consisted in magic. 
(The architecture and art of the Babylonians and architecture 

^ and art 

Assyrians, although comparatively advanced, inclined were con- 
toward conventionality. While in their palaces and ^^" '°"^ ' 
temples technical skill is shown, these structures are 
now famed for their immense size rather than for 
variety and beauty. Because of the scarcity of stone, 
they were always of brick, and were built upon a rec- 
tangular platform of the same material some forty feet 
above the ground. The temples were of the ziggurat 
type ; that is, they consisted of a tower of several sto- 
ries, each smaller than the one beneath. The palaces, 
especially those of the Assyrian monarchs at Nineveh 



48 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



during the empire, were more elaborate, having halls 
and galleries lined with sculptured alabaster, but even 
these were all rectangular, one story in height, and 
after the same general plan. The Babylonio-Assyrian 
art, which consisted largely of bas-reliefs and sculpture, 
was more varied and accurate in detail, and showed 
greater strength and freedom than in any other Ori- 
ental country, yet it savored of stiffness and naturalism. 
In the arts and crafts, especially baking bricks and 
pottery, engraving hard stones, weaving woolen cloths 
and rugs, and, during the Kassite period, coloring 
glass, these people were also expert, but generally 
conventional. 

To judge from the number of libraries of clay books 
that have been excavated, literature was highly es- 
teemed by both countries. Probably each city of any 
size had its own library, and that of Assurbanipal 
(668-626 B.C.) at Nineveh contained books by the 
tens of thousands. As might be expected, much of 
this literature was religious and scientific. Numerous 
prayers, hymns, rituals, and even religious epic poems, 
including the Gilgamesh, which contains in its eleventh 
book the prototype of the Hebrew account of the 
Deluge, have been discovered. Cosmogonic narratives 
also, among them a Creation Epic similar to the story 
in Genesis, have in large part been preserved. Sev- 
eral collections of the science of the day, such as the 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 49 

Illumination of Bel in seventy-two books, have likewise* 
been recovered. Assyria furnishes especially historical 
inscriptions and an account of the diplomacy between 
the two countries from 1450 to 700 b.c, known as the 
Synchronistic History of Assyria and Babylonia. Also 
royal proclamations, official letters, tribute lists, judicial 
decisions, and systems of laws, especially the famous 
Code of Hammurabi, give us historical knowledge 
from the early days of Babylonia down. Reading 
books, grammars, and lexicons mark the emphasis on 
education. 

While this literature shows some development of 
imagery and diction, and at times even rhythm and 
meter, it is made up, in general, of short, simple sen- 
tences, filled with imitation, repetition, and formulaic 
expressions, and consists largely of bare realism. Dur- 
ing the Chaldean period it degenerated into great elab- 
oration and artificiality without any new thought. 

Aim of Education. — The educational aim of such a Practical 
people, as in Egypt, was necessarily practical in the education. 
narrow sense of the word, for it was intended only 
as a preparation for the various professions. As this 
professional training was limited to the sacerdotal class, 
including the scribes, the system may also be described 
as priestly. 

Organization and Content. — Practically nothing is Elementary 
known concerning the schools in which the elements educatfom 



50 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

were taught, but the opportunities to obtain this train- 
ing must have been numerous and widespread. The 
higher education was given in colleges connected with 
the temples, although the great libraries must also have 
furnished a means of study for all who were ambitious. 
A wide range of technical subjects, such as engineer- 
ing, mathematics, astronomy, divination, natural sci- 
ence, medicine, architecture, art, literature, and history, 
must have been taught. 

Method. — Teaching seems to have been largely con- 
ducted through memorizing and imitation. The Baby- 
lonio-Assyrian writing, which consisted of cuneiform, 
or wedge-shaped, characters, was, like the Egyptian, 
'ideographic'; that is, it had a separate sign for 
every idea. When they had learned the characters, 
the pupils imitated the copies set them on slabs of 
fine clay, which were then sent to the potter to be 
baked. Many tablets with school exercises on them 
have been found in Babylon. The methods used in 
the higher education must have been similar. The 
identity of the teachers of the elementary work, who 
were probably numerous, and gave their instruction 
individually rather than by classes, is unknown. Of 
course the priests taught the higher work. 

Influence upon Progress. — It will be seen that, al- 
though the Babylonio-Assyrian civilization and educa- 
tion were connected with considerable development, 



BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 5 1 

progress in these countries was subject to limitations Greeks, and 

Israelites. 

similar to those in Egypt. Conventions controlled 
their activities, and individuality was largely disre- 
garded. The most evident contributions appear in 
their influence upon the Phoenician arts and com- 
merce, upon the epic and other literature of the 
Greeks, and in those legendary conceptions which, 
purified of their polytheism, the Israelites used as a 
means of teaching profound religious truth. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

Harper, R. F. Assyrian and Babylonian Literature. 
Harper, R. F. Code of Hafnmurabi. 

HiLPRECHT, H. V. Excavations in Assyria and Babylonia. 
Jastrow, M. a Fragment of the ' Dibbara ' Epic. 
Sayce, A. H. Records of the Past. Especially Vol. I, Chaps. I, 
V-VIII ; and Vol. II, Chaps. VII-IX. 

II. Authorities 

GooDSPEED, G. S. A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians. 
Hastings, J. A Dictionary of the Bible. Articles on Assyria, 

Babylonia, Races of the Old Testament, and Semites. 
Hilprecht, H. V. Recent Research in Bible Lands. Pp. 43-95- 
Jastrow, M. Religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians. 
Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Semitic Races (2). 
Maspero, G. The Dawn of Civilization in the East. 
Sayce, A. H. Babylonians and Assyrians : Life and Customs. 
Sayce, a. H. The Origin attd Growth of Religion, as Illustrated 

by the Religion of the Ancient Babylonians. 
Smith, W. R. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. 



CHAPTER VI 



PHCENICIA 



Of the other Semitic nations of the Ancient Orient, 
the Phoenicians and Israehtes are of especial interest 
to the history of education, because of their influence 
upon civilization. The history of the Israelites lasted 
until so much later, and their culture was so superior 
to that of the other Semites, the nation is treated else- 
where^ with countries of a higher type. But Phoeni- 
cia's development was of a lower order. 

Achievements. — Phoenicia itself consisted of a nar- 
row strip between the Lebanon mountains and the 
Mediterranean less than two thousand square miles in 
area, but its permanent colonies, which extended over 
all the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean and 
^gean even to Spain, made up an empire of no 
mean dimensions. This widespread settlement and the 
influence of the Phoenicians were due to the extent of 
their commerce and manufactures, in which they sur- 
passed all ancient peoples. They were, like all com- 
mercial people, shrewd and ingenious ; and, while 

1 See Chap. XI. 
52 



PHCENICIA 53 

somewhat lacking in originality, they borrowed the 
arts and crafts of the lands they visited. Thus they 
took from Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria their archi- 
tecture, sculpture, and bas-reliefs, textiles, glass-making, 
mining, ornamental metallurgy, gem-engraving, and 
ivory-carving, and improved somewhat upon them. 
They also greatly developed the science of navigation, 
and spread throughout the known world the systems 
of weights, measures, and money they had taken from 
the Babylonio-Assyrians, The greatest debt owed to 
them, however, is for the phonetic alphabet. While 
the Egyptians and others had long before invented a 
method of expressing speech in written form, it re- 
mained for the Phoenicians, from the demands of their 
commercial life, to shorten the process and reduce the 
ideographs to an alphabet. 

Character. — On the other hand, they had all the Materialistic 
worst faults of a people absorbed in materialism and 
money-getting without moral ideal. They were luxuri- 
ous, sensual, cruel, crafty, hypocritical, and treacherous. 
The * Punic faith ' attributed to Carthage, Phoenicia's 
greatest colony, by the Romans, was not merely a 
hostile slur. Their mythology and religion were con- 
nected with the sun, moon, and other nature divinities, 
as in Egypt and Babylonia, but they rejected even the 
small spiritual element which they might have obtained 
from the priesthood of those countries. Their religious 



erous m 
nature. 



54 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Industrial 
and de- 
praved. 



Dissemi- 
nated arts 
and science, 
but had 
a negative ef- 
fect ethically. 



rites were disgusting, and at times included even the 
sacrifice of their own children. 

Education. — • Little is known of their formal educa- 
tion, but from the character of their civilization it would 
naturally be industrial and commercial in aim. In 
a country where writing was so universal, there must 
have been schools in which all young people could 
learn to read and write, and there was probably some 
means of imparting their arts and sciences to those who 
could take a higher training. Their ethical teaching 
must have been most depraved. 

Effect upon Civilization, — Besides extending naviga- 
tion and inventing the phonetic alphabet, the Phoeni- 
cians improved on the other arts and sciences of Egypt 
and Babylonio- Assyria, and disseminated them through- 
out the world. They must, however, have failed to 
make any allowance for the initiative of individuals. 
As far as their religion, ethics, and character are con- 
cerned, their influence was bad; and they have little 
to teach us now, except the destructive effect of a 
purely industrial education and absorption in commer- 
cial success. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 



Article on Phoenicia. 
The Semitic Races (3), 



Hastings, J. A Dictionary of the Bible. 
Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education 
Rawlinson, G. The Story of Phoenicia. 
Sayce, a. H. 77^1? Ancient Empires of the East, Chap. Ill 



CHAPTER VII 

CHINA 

National Conditions. — A type of transitional civiliza- its great 
tion, differing widely from that of the Semitic nations, is population, 
found to the east of them among the Mongoloid peoples 
that go to make up the Empire of China. This nation 
extends over a territory almost twice the size of the 
United States, and contains a population fully five times 
as large. The country is very unfavorably situated for isolation, 
intercourse with other nations, and such outside relations 
as it has had, especially on the west, have been of so 
unpleasant a kind as to crowd it back upon itself. As 
it possesses a remarkable diversity of climate and a wide 
range of products, it has been able to keep itself quite 
independent of foreign nations. 

'^Chinese scholars claim great antiquity for their country, and age. 
even dating its origin back millions of years to the first 
man, who is said to have sprung from chaos. While 
the history of China is known with accuracy only from 
the seventh century before Christ, there is some reason 
to accept the implication in the Book of Historical Docu- 
ments, edited by Confucius, that there was a sort of gov- 

55 



56 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

ernment by 2357 b.c.^ Although the system of educa- 
tion was not instituted in exactly its present form until 
617 A.D.,1 it would seem that, practically speaking, 
Chinese civihzation and educational procedure have not, 
until recently, altered in their type for more than three 
thousand years. During the last decade there have been 
most sweeping changes in the way of introducing West- 
ern education and culture, and a veritable renaissance is 
going on at the present day. But while it may not be 
long before China is among the leading civilized na- 
tions, results are as yet comparatively meager, and the 
spirit of the past largely abides. 

About the seventh century before Christ, owing to a 
series of weak sovereigns, there was a century or more 
of great degeneracy and civil disorder. Through a 
widespread feudal system, the nobles became practi- 
cally independent of the throne, and for a time the 
country was in a state bordering on anarchy. This 

1 Opinions among European scholars are divided. On the one hand, the 
entire oldest history, including that of Confucius himself, has been denied; 
on the other, the most insipid tales leading back to the third millennium B.C. 
have been taken as fact. Chavannes and Hirth place some confidence 
in the accounts of the destruction of the Shang dynasty by Wu-Wang (n22 
B.C.), but assign the lives of the earliest emperors to the legendary period. 
The Chinese statement that public schools were established under the 
Emperor Ti-k'u (2432-2363 B.C.) deserves little confidence, and the foun- 
dation of the imperial college and other schools in the twelfth century B.C. 
is also open to some question; but it is certain that the Chinese have 
taken a great interest in schools throughout their history. 



CHINA 57 

condition was at length relieved through the influence 
of the teachings of Confucius, who had endeavored 
throughout his life to restore the ideas and customs of 
his ancestors. As a prefect he instituted these reforms 
within his own province, and was at first fairly success- 
ful; but he soon met with the frequent fate of reform- 
ers, and was obliged to flee and remain in exile until 
almost the day of his death. Afterward, however, he 
came to be regarded as a sort of Chinese Messiah, and 
his writings, which are everywhere used as a guide to 
life and conduct, are considered sacred. 

The works in which his doctrines can be found are 
the Five Classics and the Four Books} The former 
were collected ^ by him from writings of the past, 
except in the case of the last book, which was of his 
own authorship. Of the latter, which are in the nature 

1 The five King ('Classics') are (l) the Shu, or Book of Historical 
Documents, covering the period from 2357 to 619 B.C.; (2) the Shih, or 
Book of Poetry, which contains 305 odes, ranging in date from the eighteenth 
to the sixth centxiries B.C.; (3) the Yi, or Book of Changes, an enigmatic 
and symbolic work on moral, social, and political themes; (4) the Li, or 
Ritual Books, composed of three sets of imperial laws; and (5) the Hsiao, 
or Classic of Filial Piety, which seems to be an effort of Confucius to con- 
struct religion on the basis of the virtue of filial piety. The four Shu 
('Books') are (i) the Lun Yu, or Discourses and Conversations of Con- 
fucius with his disciples; (2) the Works of Mencius ; (3) the Ta Hsio, 
or Great Learning ; and (4) the Kung Yung, or Doctrine of the Mean, 
which was peculiarly a Confucian addition to the philosophy of the past. 

^ Probably they were colored somewhat by his own ideas, although he 
declares that he is a mere transmitter of the doctrine of Yao and Shun. 



58 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

of exposition, one book was written by him, the second 
was contributed two centuries later by his disciple 
Mencius, and the other two are statements of his 
teachings by still later disciples. Many other com- 
mentaries have constantly been produced, to declare 
and illustrate his teachings. 
Custom isthe Religion and Ethics. — ^^ Confucius was too absorbed in 

Ultimate ' . 

Principle, the practical reformation of morals to speculate on the 
nature of the Deity. However, while he formed no 
conception of a living, personal God as the source of 
authority, he could hardly be considered an atheist. 
He and his disciples recognized an Ultimate Principle, 
Supreme Order, or Heaven, which lay outside daily 
life and apart from men, and existed from everlasting 
to everlasting. "What Heaven has conferred," he 
declares,^ " is called nature : an accordance with this 
nature is called the path of duty." Thus Chinese 
religion defines ' nature ' as a manifestation of the work- 
ing of the great Ultimate Principle, but in reality it 
means whatever is sanctioned by the usage of many 
generations and especially authorized by Confucius. 
So, to the Chinese, truth is what has been agreed upon 
in the past ; and virtue is a knowledge and observance 
of fixed ideas and customs. Thus, with them, morality 
becomes purely a matter of knowledge ; and their 
ethical system, which appears in the form of dogmatic 

^ The first sentence of the Kung Yung. 



CHINA 59 

precepts, with no appeal to reason, is the result of and the eth- 

. 1 T, /r r 1 ^^^' system is 

tradition, and is altogether formal. Many of these traditional 
moral aphorisms are lofty, but the underlying basis is ^" °'^™^ ' 
necessarily prudential and sordid. Under such a 
system, individuality is crushed, and originality is 
largely lost. 

Socially, this Supreme Order of Confucius is be- Absolute 
lieved to be expressed in the family relationship. In the father in 
consequence, this institution is treated with the greatest ^^^^ ^Ihe 
reverence, and the head of the family is endowed with emperor m 

■^ the nation, is 

absolute powers. His wife and children must render part of Con- 
fucianism, 
him implicit obedience in all things, so that women are 

practically slaves of their husbands. Moreover, the 
state is supposed to be a development of the family, 
and the emperor at its head is treated as ' the father of 
the nation.' He is to be obeyed without question, and 
has absolute control of the life and death of his subjects. 
Hence the fourth of the Confucian Classics ^ declares : 
*\When nothing is left incomplete or improperly dis- 
charged ; this is what is called perfection. There is a 
fundamental agreement between a loyal subject in the 
service of his sovereign and a filial son in the service of 
his parents. In the supernal sphere there is a compli- 
ance with the repose and expansion of the energies of 
nature ; in the external sphere, a compliance with the 
rulers and elders; in the internal sphere, the filial 

1 See the £t, Bk. XXII, 2. 



6o 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Numerous 
rites and 
ceremonies 
are pre- 
scribed. 



service of parents : — all this constitutes what is called 
perfection." 

With so stereotyped a society and moral code, it is 
not surprising that religious observances in China are 
also thoroughly formal. The Classic quoted from above 
prescribes the exact moral and social acts that are to be 
performed each day by both family and state, declaring 
that " of all the methods for the good ordering of men, 
there is none more urgent than the use of ceremonies." 
Connected with the abstract pantheism and intellectual 
ethics of Confucius, there is a yearly ceremonial per- 
formed by the state as a whole in the person of the 
emperor-father,^ and his various provincial representa- 
tives. It is intended to honor Nature and acknowledge 
the dependence of man upon the Supreme Order. 
The family idea of Confucianism is also carried out in 
a formal worship of ancestors, which, however, is partly 
the outcome of a fear that these spirits of the departed 
might, if neglected, visit wrath upon their descendants. 
But besides these and other features of Confucianism, 
which is the state religion, though professed only by the 
better educated people, an idolatrous form of Buddhism,^ 
and a still more degenerate Taoism,^ made up of in- 
cantations, exorcism, and spiritism, are adhered to by 



^ See footnote on p. 65. 

2 See Sacred Books of the East, edited by Max MuUer, Vols. XIX, 
XXXIX, and XL. 



CHINA 6l 

the masses generally. These cults, however, do not 
conflict, but have tended to amalgamate with the older 
religion, which had shaped the Chinese character long 
before the others entered the field. 

Culture.— *■ The language and literature of the Chinese Language is 
have remained quite as undeveloped as their religion j^uxtaposklve, 
and social order. The language consists of monosyl- 
lables,^ and is completely analytic and juxtapositive. 
There are no distinct parts of speech and no inflections; 
and the grammatical relations and meaning are indicated 
by position in the sentence, and by combinations with 
qualifying words, assisted by tone and accent. There 
is no alphabet, and the written characters have been 
modified but little from the original ideographs. The literature is 
literature of China consists largely of the nine sacred formulaic 
books and numbers of commentaries upon them by later 
writers. The subject-matter ^ of these works consists 
for the most part of preceptive systems of morals and 
ceremonials, barren annals and history, and various 
types of lyric poems, together with interpretative ex- 
planations. Their literature has been greatly hindered 
by their early activity in this direction, of which they 
are extremely proud. The language in which this 
classic literature is written differs so much from the 
colloquial as to be practically a foreign tongue. 

1 This, however, is possibly due to the decay of the original dissyllabic 
and trisyllabic forms. * See footnote i on p. 57. 



62 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



and the de- 
velopment of 
science, art, 
and the 
crafts has 
been handi- 
capped. 



Because of the Chinese opposition to anything new, 
there has never been any real philosophic speculation, 
or any development of physical or biological science 
among them. The few theories they have invented are 
almost as devoid of fancy as they are of accuracy. 
Chinese artists have shown much delicacy of touch in 
carving fans and card-cases, but while most of their 
work is pretty, it is cramped and out of proportion. 
Painting and sculpture have not advanced much beyond 
rude imitations of nature, and they pay little attention 
to perspective or shading. From the seventh century 
A.D. they have made beautiful porcelain, and, from 
their earliest history, mirrors of bronze, and have at 
all times woven mats, chairs, and baskets from rattan ; 
but all their patterns are imitative and little subject to 
change. 

The Purpose of Education. — ■ Thus every influence 
connected with the history of the Chinese has conspired 
to make them a most conservative people. The isola- 
tion of their geographical position, the sufficiency of their 
natural products, and the national habit that has re- 
sulted from such vast numbers of people following a 
definite bent for thousands of years have done much 
toward creating an inherent opposition to progress. 
The preservation of the past has become the great 
essential, and all originality is regarded as impious and 
unpatriotic. 



CHINA 63 

Naturally, the educational aim is a reflection of their intended to 

.-1.11 n r ', ' • ii r maintain 

social ideals. As far as it is conscious, the purpose of conditions 
education is to maintain conditions as they have always ^eJn^^'^^^* 
been, and, by means of literary training of a most stereo- 
typed order, to reduce to uniformity a numerous and 
heterogeneous people. It is not intended to advance 
the individual or social welfare of the people, but to en- 
able the pupils to pass examinations upon certain defi- 
nite requirements fixed for centuries past. Hence the 
Chinese system has often been referred to as the most 
perfect type of static^ ancestor, family, or formal 
educatiott. 

Means of Education. — The means for providing this No national 

system, but 

training is ingenious. The administration of a school private 
system for some four hundred million people might couraged. 
easily be felt to be too cumbersome for any state to 
undertake. At any rate, the Chinese Empire has not 
attempted this, but it does encourage all private en- 
deavors by limiting eligibility for every national position 
of trust and dignity to the educated, and it allows to 
practically all classes the privilege of securing an educa- 
tion and competing for these honors. Yet, while schools 
exist everywhere, and no boy is excluded from rising to 
the highest office under the empire, the attendance is 
smaller than it should be. This is because the only 
real value of Chinese training is to enable one to pass 
examinations leading to offices of profit and honor, and 



64 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the educated man is actually unfitted thereby for any 
other employment, except teaching, without loss of 
prestige. So only one pupil in twenty passes beyond 
the elementary work, and but a small fraction of these 
remains long enough to secure even the lowest degree. 
Except in the case of a few wealthy families, where the 
training is entirely private, girls are not allowed any 
education beyond the household arts and fitting deport- 
ment, and women cannot compete at the examinations. 
Such a school system is necessarily ineffective, in spite 
of its apparently being so general. 
Twofold or- The organization of education is twofold, and con- 

ganization : 

(ij Eiemen- sists of a systcm of schools and a set of examinations. 

foj-y schools * M-> 

' The schools, which are usually concerned with ele- 
mentary training only, are seldom held in buildings 
designed for the purpose. The master's own dwelling 
or that of some wealthy patron, an old pagoda or 
temple, or even a shed, is ordinarily used as a school- 
house. The schoolrooms are, as a rule, far from 
attractive. In them are generally a study-table and 
armchair for the teacher, and a picture or altar of 
Confucius in one corner of the room. The boys bring 
their own tables and chairs or stools, and provide them- 
selves with books, paper, pencils, and India ink. Much 
ceremony is practiced, and is, doubtless, necessary to keep 
alive any respect under such bare surroundings. When 
a pupil first goes to school, about the age of seven, he 



CHINA 65 

is dressed in festal garb with a tasseled cap. As soon 
as he has entered the room, he prostrates himself before 
the picture of Confucius,^ and then with almost equal 
reverence he bows to the teacher. Thereafter, he be- 
gins every morning of his school life with these two 
ceremonies. Dr. Martin tells us : " In no country is 
the office of teacher more revered. Not only is the 
Hving instructor saluted with forms of profoundest 
respect, but the very name of teacher, taken in the 
abstract, is an object of almost idolatrous homage." 

(As the tasks are most severe, school hours last from 
sunrise to five in the afternoon, with an intermission 
from ten to eleven for luncheon ; and school is in ses- 
sion practically throughout the year. Thus the school- 
boy, being excluded from all companionship with those 
of his years, becomes the veriest drudge. -^ 

While students are generally obliged to continue their (2) Exami- 
work beyond the elementary grades by themselves, a temfor 
few academies for higher training have been founded '^ ^rwor , 
under private auspices, or through the endowment of 
wealthy men and public officials. These academies 
prepare for the government examinations, which com- 
prise the higher part of the scholastic organization, and 

^ On the last day of 1906 Confucius was, by imperial edict, raised to the 
same rank as Heaven and Earth, who are worshiped by the emperor 
alone. This action is supposed to have been taken in deference to 
the increasing number of Christian students, who object to bowing to 
Confucius. 



66 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

are more distinctively Chinese. From the ranks of the 
successful are filled the various offices of the empire, 
and in this way the order of the government and of 
society is preserved without change. After two pre- 
liminary, or, as as we might say, ' entrance ' examina- 
tions, there are tests of three grades, each of which, 
with degrees, if passed, leads to a degree. An idea of the precise 
and formal character of these examinations, and the 
way in which those who succeed are rewarded, can be 
gained with a fair degree of accuracy ^ from the tabu- 
lated outline on pages 68 and 69. 

(Those who have attained the doctor's, or * fit for 
office ' degree, may take a fourth and final examina- 
tion, and, upon passing it, become life members of the 
Han-lin Yuan (* forest of pencils '), or Imperial Acad- 
emy. The members of the Han-Hn are the official 
poets and historians of China. They virtually serve as 
the emperor's cabinet, and, although as such their 
educational prerogatives are only advisory, other offices 
of great importance are also granted them. Sometimes 
the emperor designates the one who most distinguishes 
himself in the final examination as the literary leader of 
the nation, and this man is held in great reverence by 
all as the very flower of their genius. 

There is no age limit for any of the examinations, 

^ Authorities differ in their descriptions, and the details are too numer- 
ous to be given in full. 



CHINA 6y 

and not infrequently a youth has undergone the ordeals 
at the same time with his father, and even his grand- 
father. During the entire time of an examination the 
candidates are locked up in cells, and are not allowed 
to leave under any circumstances. Even their meals 
are eaten there. The strain under which they labor 
must be tremendous ; and often serious illness, or even 
death, results. The examinations, however, are not 
always conducted honestly, for, despite a vigorous 
searching of the candidates beforehand, small editions of 
the sacred books, or essays prepared in advance, are some- 
times smuggled into the examinations in their sleeves, 
and officials have been known to be open to bribery. 

Subject-matter of the Course. — The entire course of in the eie- 
study in the Chinese schools may be divided into three perk)d7the 
grades. In the first, or elementary period, the pupils ™ortanTchar- 
learn the most important characters in the language ^<:^^^^ are 

learned and 

and commit the nine sacred books to memory. The the sacred 

books com- 

characters, as has already been mdicated, do not repre- mitted. 
sent sounds, but ideas, and a different symbol is used for 
every word. There are, therefore, fully thirty thousand 
ideographs, although only about five thousand appear 
in the Five Classics and the Four Books. In acquiring 
these characters, some six or seven schoolbooks ^ are com- 

^ The first schoolbook, or primer, is the San-isz King, or Trimetrical 
Classic, from which the pupil acquires some five hundred symbols. It re- 
ceives its name from the fact that it is rhythmically constructed, having three 



68 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



EXAMINATIONS FOR DEGREES IN CHINA 





First 


Second 


Third 


Place held . . . 


County seat ^ 


Provincial Cap- 


Capital of the 


Number of cen- 




ital 


Empire 


ters 


252 


18 


I 


How often . . . 


Twice every 


Every three 


Every three years 




three years 


years 




Length of ses- 








sion 


One day and 


Three sessions 


Thirteen days 




one night 


of three days 
each 




Presiding officer 


Provincial ex- 


Two examiners 


The Han-lin 




aminer 


from the 


(Imperial 


Nature of the 




Han-lin 


Academy) 


examination 


Two prose es- 


Five or six es- 






says, and one 


says on each 






poetical, on 


of the first 






themes from 


two days ; 






the sacred 


and five ques- 






books 


tions on the 
history and 
economics of 
China, for 




Number of can- 




the third day 




didates . . . 


500 to 2000 


4800 to 10,000 




Number that 








pass 


About I in 35 2 


One in 120 ^ 


A larger propor- 
tion than in the 
two other ex- 
aminations 



CHINA 



69 



EXAMINATIONS FOR DEGREES IN CUl'i^X— Continued 





First 


Second 


Third 


Degree received 


' Flourishing 


' Promoted 


' Fit for Office.' 




Talent.' Cf. 


Scholar.' Cf. 


Cf. our ' Doc- 




our ' Bache- 


our ' Master ' 


tor' 




lor' 






Other distinc- 








tions .... 


Gilt button on 


Gilt button of 






cap 


higher order 
on cap, a 
couple of flag- 
staffs before 
the gate, and 
a tablet on 
the door 




Privileges . . . 


Chief place at 


Privileges of 


May claim a coun- 




banquet and 


the first de- 


ty magistracy 




funerals ; 


gree ; but 


at once ; from 




spared all toil 


also sure of 


their numbers 




through sup- 


an office after 


are filled all 




port of rela- 


a year or two, 


the higher civil 




tives ; may- 


and sooner, 


and educa- 




obtain sub- 


if influence 


tional offices 




ordinate offi- 


enough 






cial position, 








though no 








right to ex- 








pect it 3 







^ China is divided into 18 provinces, and these are subdivided into 252 counties and 
705 districts. The preliminary examinations are held in the districts, and the tests for 
the degrees are conducted at the centers of the larger divisions. 

' The examination is repeated, if too large a proportion pass on the first occasion. 

* See especially Smith, Village Life in China, pp. 132-133. 



yo A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

mitted before the sacred books are taken up. All of 
these texts, including the nine sacred works, are in- 
tended at this stage simply to give a command of the 
characters, and no attention is paid to meaning. Even 
if the ancient literary language were understood, the 
subject-matter is treated in far too condensed and 
abstract a fashion for a boy to comprehend. 

iDuring this period also the pupils learn to write, 
although without any relation to what they are reading. 
Arithmetic, which is very necessary to them in calcu- 
lating their exceedingly small currency, is never taken up 
in the school, but must be acquired afterward in the 
course of practical business. This elementary period 
of education, which lasts some five or six years, usually 
represents the limit for most boys who go to school 
at all. 

In the second In the second stage the nine sacred books are trans- 
period, the 

books are 
translated ; 



period, the , , . n ^i • 

books are latcd mto morc modern Chmese, although at first no 



explanation is given by the teacher. Later, commen- 

characters to each line, and it treats of a number of duties and the rules for 
study. Following this comes the PiA Kio Siitg, or Century of Surnames, 
from which they learn some four hundred family names. The Tsien Tsz- 
wan, or the Essay of a Thousand Characters, is studied next. In this the 
characters are arranged in two hundred and fifty columns of four symbols 
each, so as to secure rhyme and rhythm, but without much regard to con- 
tinuity or sense. There are also used the Yiu Hioh Shi-tieh, or Odes for 
Children, the tractate on Filial Duty, called the Hiao King, and finally, 
the Siao Hioh, ox Juvenile Instructor, all of which contain moral ideas in 
the form of story or precept. 



CHINA 71 

taries are taken up, and the meaning made clear. The and in the 

third, essays 

third period is occupied with the writing of essays and are modeled 
poems after the style and thought of the Five Classics 
and other fixed models. These latter stages of educa- 
tion last indefinitely, as they may continue until the 
student passes the governmental examinations, — or 
finally dies in the attempt. 

Method of Teaching. — ^^The Chinese methods of The boys 
teaching are formal in the extreme. They are based books by 
upon mere memorizing and exact imitation. While s^°'^^'°s» 
each teacher has charge of from twenty to forty pupils, 
the instruction is not by classes, but by hearing of in- 
dividuals. The words of the lesson are read out by the 
teacher and repeated in concert by the pupils, each of 
whom has a book open before him, until they can 
pronounce a line without assistance. Every one then 
shouts out the line until it is fully impressed upon his 
mind, when he hands his book to the teacher, turns his 
back, and rapidly repeats this portion in a shrill voice 
without any idea of the meaning. After all have com- 
mitted the line, the next one is taken up in the same 
way. Of this method of teaching, Dr. Smith dryly re- 
marks : " Every Chinese regards this shouting as an 
indispensable part of the child's education. If he is 
not shouting, how can the teacher be sure that he is 
studying ? And as studying and shouting are the same 
thing, when he is shouting, there is nothing more to be 



72 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

and learn to desired." Writing is learned by having the teacher's 

write by 

tracing; copy under the paper and tracing it with a brush until 

some facility is obtained. The pupils then imitate the 
copy without tracing until they can finally draw the 
characters from memory. The easiest symbols are 
learned first, and the writing is gradually made smaller 
as skill is acquired. 

while higher The higher education in explaining the sacred books 

education is , . •- • • • -i i j • ^i i t- 

obtained by and m cssay writmg IS similarly crude m method. Ex- 
kcuireraifd pl^uatory lectures on the Five Classics and the Four 
phrases. Books are given at the private and public academies, 
and are largely committed to memory. Prose and 
verse composition on the topics discussed are also 
written at frequent intervals. These essays cannot 
show any originality, but must employ the thought, 
style, and meter of the sacred books or of certain dis- 
tinguished scholars whose productions are memorized 
for this purpose.^ Such a method would be about 
equivalent to requiring our American schoolboys to 
produce compositions after the style and subject-matter 
of Wyclif or Chaucer. 
Teachers are No examinations or licensing of teachers, or super- 
vision of their work, is attempted by the government. 
The elementary schools are generally taught by those 
who have obtained only the first degree and have as yet 

^ The slow and stereotyped fashion in which composition is learned is 
more fully described by Martin in his Lore of Cathay, pp. 293-294. 



unskilled, 



CHINA 73 

found no official opening, or often by those who have 
failed to secure even this distinction. We are, there- 
fore, not surprised to learn from an eminent authority ^ 
that " To the enormous oversupply of school-teachers ' 
it is due that one of the most honorable callings is at 
the same time one of the most ill-paid." In the higher 
work, however, where the salaries are much better, 
even the * doctors ' are, as a matter of preference, some- 
times engaged. With methods so poor, it is not sur- and disci- 
prising that an artificial stimulus is necessary, or that harsh, 
the bamboo is frequent and merciless in its appli- 
cations. 

Results of Chinese Education. — Thus every feature 
of the social and intellectual life of the Chinese has in 
the past stamped them as non-progressive. While they 
have not been altogether as stationary as sometimes de- 
scribed, and at present are introducing European civili- 
zation at a most surprising rate, their advancement in 
the past has been in spite of themselves. The chief 
tenets of the prevailing religion are the maintenance of 
an unchanging order and a static system of ethics. 
The worship of antiquity and ancestors, and the formal 
ceremonial, together with the family ideal of govern- 
ment at home and in the state, are natural outgrowths. 
The rules for conduct are prescribed, and must be 
committed to memory. In consequence, moral judg- 

^ Smith, Village Life in China, pp. 73-74. 



74 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

ments are not well developed with them, and often no 
distinction is made between an accidental and an in- 
tentional lapse. The Chinese are sober, industrious, 
and thrifty ; but beneath the surface of their fine' 
ethical precepts, they are often vain, cunning,^ servile, 
and immoral. 

vTheir education is the product of this society, and is 
subject to the same limitations. While all boys are 
allowed to obtain school privileges, and it is possible for 
any one who can pass the first examination to secure 
social standing and an official position, because of the 
time and money needed to secure it and its worthless- 
ness to one who fails at the examination, education is 
not common among the masses of the people. So, 
although the nominal opportunities offered prevent the 
formation of any definite system of castes, and may 
help to keep the people contented, the social order 
is in reality largely predetermined by an aristocratic edu- 

The Chinese cation. Not only does this training tend to bind sc- 
are bound to . . ,, , 

the past, and cicty to the past, but it more directly prevents progress 

is sup- "^''^ by suppressing individuality. The subjects offered are 

pressed. purely literary and must be learned after a stereotyped 

fashion. Even the ruling of the paper, the formation 

of the symbols, and their exact position is prescribed. 

Mental training, therefore, consists mostly in the devel- 

1 Commercially, however, the Chinese have a reputation for formal 
honesty. Most of the cashiers in the Japanese banks are Chinamen. 



CHINA 75 

opment of retention, and the more important powers of 
^analysis and reasoning are neglected. The pupils are 
forced to load their minds with numerous details, and 
to make unessential distinctions. Failing to do this, 
they are severely punished. Little attention is given 
to anything that might foster initiative and originality, No initiative 

. .J. or originality, 

or fit the pupil for concrete livmg, except m so lar as or training 
he obtains from his education certain rules for practi- i^^^ing'is'^'^^'^ 
cal conduct, or through it secures the right to an offi- possible, 
cial position. No training in calculation, geography, 
science, manual arts, or other subjects needed in actual 
life, is afforded. 

,Thus Chinese society and education have remained 
of much the same type throughout their history. In 
them the past is continually preserved, and progress is 
forbidden. As a result, the Chinese Empire has already 
endured for several millennia, and if outside influences 
were not interfering, it would continue in its way indefi- 
nitely. Where no change is permitted, stability is an 
easy matter; but it may be doubted whether perma- 
nence without progress can be accounted real existence 
after all. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

MtJLLER, Max. Sacred Books of the East, Vols. Ill, XVI, XIX, 
XXVII, XXVIII, XXXIX, XL. 



76 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

II. Authorities 

Douglas, R. K. China. 

Douglas, R. K. Europe and the Far East, Chaps. I-VIII. 

HiRTH, F. The Ancient History of China to the End of the Chdu 

Dynasty. 
Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Uro-Altaic Races, 

Chap. I. 
Martin, W. A. P. The Chinese ; Their Education, Philosophy, and 

Letters. 
Martin, W. A. P. The Lore of Cathay. Especially Bk. IV. 
Monroe, P. A Text-Book in the History of Education, Chap. II. 
Smith, A. H. Chinese Characteristics. 
Smith, A. H. Village Life in China. Especially Chaps. IX, X, 

and XII. 
Williams, S. Wells. The Middle Kingdom. Especially Vol. I, 

Chap. IX. 



CHAPTER VIII 

, INDIA 

Effect of Environment. — The Aryan nations, which 
will now be viewed, were by nature more emancipated 
from superstition and bondage to the past than the other 
countries belonging to the transitional stage of culture. 
The strength of their intellect was largely due to the in- 
vigorating surroundings amid which they were origi- 
nally placed. The cradle of the Aryan race, according 
to the view now prevailing, ^ is generally regarded as 
Europe rather than Asia, but those characteristics which 
more commonly mark the European Aryan did not sur- 
vive in that branch of the family that went south and 
dispossessed the aboriginal tribes of India. The ener- The Aryans 
vating climate of this great peninsula, the chronic lassitude 
of the older inhabitants, and their own inactivity eventu- 
ally had its effect upon the Aryan conquerors. They 
must have entered India somewhere about 2000 B.C., 
and for nearly eight hundred years they preserved their 
peculiarities to a greater or less extent. In the earliest 

^ However, the recently discovered cuneiform material in Asia Minor 
tends to show the Asiatic origin of the Iranians, and hence of the Aryans. 

77 



78 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

portions of their sacred writings, the Vedas, their 
thought so closely resembles the primitive form of the 
Persian religion, which never lost its Aryan vigor, as 
very clearly to suggest a common origin. During this 
early period they evidently worshiped the various 
powers of nature, especially Agjii, the Fire, and Indra, 
the Thunder-storm,^ and their religion was without an 
element of weakness or inaction. 
Mystic Religion. — - Gradually, however, the debilitating cli- 

philosophy . . , i i i 

of Brahman- mate, together With various other causes, led to the 
'^™' formulation of Brahmanism, with its mystic philosophy, 

which is almost the opposite pole of the Aryan individ- 
ualism and activity. The old Vedic gods and the sac- 
rificial ceremonies were retained, but it was held that 
nothing except Brahma^ the one universal spirit, really 
exists. Whatever else appears to have separate exist- 
ence, even the earlier gods, is in reality identical with 
that spirit; and while men seem to be temporarily 
allowed an individuality of their own, they should seek 
an ultimate reunion by absorption into the great eternal 
spirit. With this is joined the belief in metempsychosis, 
or transmigration of souls. It was held that every 
creature must be repeatedly reborn in various forms 
until he is purified of all desires ; and thus, by gradually 
doing away with activity and deeds, he becomes united 
with Brahma, or pure existence. 

1 See Tiele, History of Ancient Religions, p. 113. 



INDIA 79 

This pantheistic conception was, however, reserved Buddhism 



arose as a 



for the Brahmans, or priestly class, who had grown into reform from 
a hierarchy, and kept intensifying the lines between the an^^ TiasT 
castes. The masses were taught only a polytheistic distinctions; 
worship, which, although based upon Vedic beliefs, em- 
bodied the fetishism of the older inhabitants, and multi- 
plied sacrifices and ceremonies, and so eventually degen- 
erated into an absurd idolatry. As a reform, Buddhism 
arose about 500 B.C., although it did not become a real 
rival to Brahmanism for two centuries and a half. It 
was founded by Gautama, more often called Buddha,^ 
who, being himself only the son of a warrior, and not a 
Brahman, taught disregard of caste distinctions. It also 
insisted upon the uselessness of sacrifices, ceremonial, 
and prayers, and held that the goal of life was a com- 
plete extinction of desire, which would result in a state 
known as Nirvana. This is equivalent to self-annihila- 
tion, rather than absorption into the world-spirit. Feel- 
ing the hollowness of this transitory world, the Bud- 
dhists advocated monastic life in the forests. 

Such a negative ideal of life, together with the Bud- but was 
dhist substitution of an atheistic behef for the older united with 
pantheism, enabled the Brahmans about 500 a.d. to 
crush the schism completely. By the thirteenth cen- 
tury of our era. Buddhism had been altogether exiled to 

^ Gautama has been known as Buddha (• the enlightened one') 
among Europeans. 



Brahman- 
ism. 



80 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Thibet, China, Japan, and other 
places, or had lost itself in the modified form of Brah- 
manism known as Hinduism. Since then, education 
in India has consisted almost entirely of a training in 
Hindu principles and lore.^ 
The four Social Conditions. — A Hindu boy's whole situation in 

castes, 

life, including the education that he receives, depends 
upon the occupation of his father, for the people are 
divided into hereditary classes, or 'castes.' As a 
result of the prominence of the religious element in 
their civilization, the priestly caste, or the Brahmanas, 
which also embraces all those skilled in law, medicine, 
architecture, music, legislation, and other learning, is 
the highest. It outranks that of the Kshatriyas, or 
warriors, which includes all those engaged in the admin- 
istration of the country. The honor attached to leisure 
by the religion of the Hindus has caused those who 
carry on the industries to be looked upon as inferior 
to the former two classes. The third caste is, therefore, 
that of the Vaisyas, which is composed of merchants, 
farmers, and other employers of labor. The fourth, 
or lowest of all, including all outcasts, is looked upon 
as ' unclean,' and it comprehends, under the name of 

1 Great Britain, the present ruler of India, has transplanted there a com- 
plete school system of her own type, and the various Christian churches, 
the Mohammedans, and the Parsis have interested themselves more or 
less with education ; but the most influential factor is still decidedly 
Hinduism, and with its peculiarities alone are we concerned here. 



INDIA 8 1 

Sudras, the serving class and all menials. Numerous 
subdivisions ^ are also made within the castes, especially 
the third and fourth, and many former distinctions have 
now disappeared. Outside the social order altogether 
are the Pariahs, who, with the Sudras, are probably de- and the 

Pariahs. 

scendants of the original inhabitants. The Brahmanas 
seem to be of pure Aryan extraction, and the second and 
third castes of various degrees of mixed blood. But 
the first three castes are sometimes grouped together as 
Aryas, or nobles born, as distinguished from the serving 
class, the Sudras. 

i_A man may marry a woman of a lower caste than his 
own, but not of a higher. So one may fall into a caste 
below, but he cannot rise. Neither wealth nor other 
success in life, nor any amount of philanthropy or exhi- 
bition of any virtues, can lift him a single notch beyond 
the point at which his family has been for centuries. 
Loss of caste by one person in a family will degrade all 
the rest. But the Brahmans have never been able, since 
the influence of Buddhism was felt, to place so strict 
an interpretation upon the caste system ; and it is now 
generally admitted that even the lowest orders may 
sometime attain to absorption in Brahma. All the 
castes are also allowed to know a little of the pantheistic 
teachings. Eventually, with the growth of humanity, 
the caste system must altogether disappear, but, for a 

1 See Code of Manu, X. 
G 



82 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Woman is 
supposed 
only to 
minister to 
man, and 
bear chil- 
dren. 



long time to come, it is likely to be the curse of India, 
and to mark its system of education. 

In such an organization of society, it is not surprising 
that woman is not held in proper esteem. It is true 
there have been some notable exceptions at all times, 
like the wife of Rama, the legendary prince of ancient 
India, whose memory is worshiped as the ideal type of 
womanhood ; and there are instances cited in which 
poetesses composed Vedic hymns, and a woman dis- 
cussed philosophic questions. But woman's position in 
India has generally been to minister to the comfort and 
pleasure of man, and to bear children. The ancient 
laws tell us : " In childhood, a female must be sub- 
ject to her father, in youth to her husband, and in 
widowhood to her sons ; a woman must never be inde- 
pendent. Though destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure 
elsewhere, or devoid of good qualities, a husband must 
be constantly worshiped as a god by a faithful wife." 
While a campaign is being vigorously waged by Christian 
missions against various revolting practices, yet even 
now, in keeping with the Hindu code, girls are in their 
infancy^ still sold for wives, a gross polygamy is allowed,^ 
and perpetual widowhood^ of a degrading sort is still 
prevalent. The position of women in much of Hindu 
society is little above that of slavery. 

1 Manu, IX, 88. 2 /^^v., Ill, 1 2-13, and IX, 85-86. 

8 Ibid., V, 160-164, and IX» 65. 



INDIA 83 

Aim of Education. — Thus, ever since Brahmanism Preparation 
and brooding reflection first controlled the Hindus, the to come, 
aim of education has been to prepare for the life to come 
and absorption into the Infinite, rather than for achieve- 
ments in this life. The chief object is to fill the pupils 
with the tenets of their religion, and to teach them how 
to carry out its injunctions. Incidentally, education is 
intended to preserve the caste system commanded by 
Hinduism, and to keep all within the sphere of their 
occupation. The three upper castes are nominally sup- 
posed to gain a knowledge of the sacred works, but, 
outside the Brahmans, custom dictates that not many 
take advantage of the opportunity. The warriors are 
expected to pay more attention to martial exercises, and 
the industrial caste to acquire through apprenticeship 
the arts necessary for its hereditary occupations. The 
Sudras have been allowed to receive no education at all, 
and it has at times been even deemed a crime punishable 
with death to let them learn anything. It is intended 
that women shall remain uneducated, and it is consid- 
ered a reproach to them even to know how to read or 
write, as they might thereby be tempted to neglect 
their domestic duties. So, throughout Hindu educa- 
tion, mental development for its own sake is entirely 
unknown. 

Means and Content. — All of the castes, however, ex- Elementary 

. . subjects and 

cept the Sudras, may now learn readmg, writmg, and traditions are 



84 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

learned at the elements of arithmetic, together with the special 

home, and , , , . , . , 

later in local requirements and religious observances suited to each 
caste. They receive this training to some extent from 
the laws, traditions, and customs of the country through 
the medium of the family; but also in a more formal 
way from the elementary schools, which are a modern 
institution. These schools are held in each village 
under the trees in the open air, or, during bad weather, 
in covered sheds; and besides the subjects mentioned, 
since the early centuries of the Christian era, the pupils 
have been taught fables, parables, and allegories. The 
best known collection of these stories is the Pancha- 
tantra. 
Higher edu- The higher education, from about looo B.C., has 
ried on at largely been carried on in Brahmanic colleges called 
coUeges^'^ /'<2m/z<3:^j'. These were originally conducted by three 
Brahmans, but the number has gradually been increased 
until twenty-one are considered the ordinary corps 
of instruction. Even before these institutions were 
founded, however, during the Vedic period, higher 
schools for the study of the religious works and practices 
were held at the houses of the teachers or at the dif- 
ferent royal courts. There are now also private schools 
that are not necessarily for Brahmans, in which the 
tuition may be paid for by services. 
(^When a Brahman has attained a complete education, 
he has committed to memory various sacred books. 



commen- 
taries. 



INDIA 85 

The chief of these is the work known by the collect- 
ive name of Veda (' knowledge '). It includes four 

manuals, each of which is also called Veda.^ These by commit- 
ting the 
Vedas are arranged as rituals for the four orders of vedasand 

Brahman priests, when engaged in sacrificing. To fr°^^tht"*" 
each of these metrical portions are appended various 
prose writings ^ which are intended as commentaries on 
the hymns and prayers and on their application to the 
sacrifices. ** Every Brahmanic family," writes Professor 
Bhandarkar, in the Indian Antiquary, " is devoted to the 
study of a particular Veda; and the domestic rites of 
the family are performed according to the ritual de- 
scribed in the Sutra connected with that Veda." 

From the different commentaries on the Veda has 
been drawn the nucleus for metrical books of laws, like 
the Code of Manu, which is a collection of traditional 
customs ; and for philosophical and scientific works, 
such as the six Angas on Phonetics, Etymology, Meter, 
Astronomy, Grammar, and Ceremonial respectively. 

In all this hereditary knowledge of the Hindus, which 
has been a natural fruit of their contemplative life, the 
Brahman may also be instructed. The learning that 

1 These are (i) Rigveda, a collection of the earliest hymns; (2) Sama- 
veda, and (3) Yajurveda, which are largely made up of verses from the 
Rigtieda, the one consisting of chants and the other of prayers and ritual; 
and (4) Atharaveda, a composite collection, popular rather than hieratic 
in its character. 

2 I.e. the Brahmanas, Sutras, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. 



86 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

has been handed down in this way is not inconsiderable. 
To the Hindus we are indebted for our numerical nota- 
tion, often wrongly attributed to the Arabs. During 
the fifth century after Christ they invented an algebra 
superior to that of the Greeks, although they were prob- 
ably assisted by the work of the latter. They early 
learned how to calculate eclipses and find the location 
of planets by means of tables. They seem also to have 
had some knowledge of medicine. By 300 a.d. they 
possessed a treatise on rhetoric, and had worked out 
a logic two centuries before the time of Aristotle ; while 
in the science of grammar, as early as the fourth cen- 
tury B.C., they were so far advanced that the Western 
world first learned what philology was when the study 
of Sanskrit was opened to Europe a hundred or more 
years ago. To complete his course of study has always 
taken the young Brahman from eight to twelve years ; 
and he may, if he undertakes the entire range of Hindu 
knowledge, spend a lifetime in the work,^ 
Pupil com- Method of Teaching. — Since all learning has been 
in'g^ioud." preserved by oral tradition, it is not remarkable that 

^ We learn from Apastamba-sutras, I, 2, 12: "He who has been ini- 
tiated shall dwell as a religious student in the house of his teacher, for 
forty-eight years (if he learns all four Vedas), for thirty-six years, for 
twenty-four years, for eighteen years. Twelve years (should be) the 
shortest time." Max Miiller (^Origin of Religion, p. 156) shows that at 
present a student requires fully eight years to learn the various sacred 
books. 



INDIA 87 

practically the only method of instruction, even since 
writing has been used, is a memonter one. Even the 
later texts are so written as to be easily committed. 
The alphabet and some ten or twenty pages of the text 
are taught before any explanation is given. The 
teacher pronounces two or three words at a time, which 
the pupil repeats after him ; and, when two or three 
verses have been read, they are sung aloud by the boy 
until he has committed them. Each lesson consists of 
125 to 175 verses. The higher education is imparted 
in a similar way. Writing is learned by practicing 
the teacher's copy on the sand with a stick, then on 
palm leaves with a stylus, and finally on plane leaves 
with ink. 

The teachers are always Brahmans, and, to teach even Teachers are 
the elementary work, are required to pass through the the greatest 
complete course of higher study.^ Naturally they "^^^P^*^*- 
are treated with the greatest respect.^ They are not 
directly paid for their services,^ but collect 'presents' 
from the parents, especially the wealthier men. It is 
considered a grave offense to study the sacred works 
without an authorized instructor.* Older students, 
however, are often used by the master to teach the 
younger pupils, and it was from India that the idea of 
the 'monitorial' system was first obtained by Andrew 

^ Max Miiller, Origin of Religion, p. 154. 2 Manu, II, 191-208. 

3 Ibid., Ill, 15. * Jbid., II, 242. 



88 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Discipline. 



Most of the 
people are 
uneducated, 
and even the 
Brahmans 
have only 
traditional 
learning ; 
hence there 
has been 
little progress 
or ambition. 



Bell, and others before him. Although individuality 
is entirely neglected in this system of sheer memory, dis- 
cipline, owing to the unassertiveness of the pupils, is 
mild, except in very serious cases, when a pupil may 
be beaten upon the back with a rope or a split 
bamboo.^ 

Effect upon Hindu Character. — Thus education in 
India is based upon a gloomy religious belief and the 
rigid caste system accompanying it. The Hindu boy 
is impressed with the unreality and wretchedness of this 
life, and is enjoined to escape from it as soon as possible 
through reflection and inactivity. He also learns to 
regard members of the other castes not merely without 
sympathy, but with positive hatred. 

In consequence, education has been forbidden to 
ninety-eight per cent of the population,^ and, as far as 
it does exist, it is a mere stuffing of memory. It is as 
little concerned with real mental culture as it is with 
training for manhood or citizenship. Also, as has been 
seen, while the Brahmans have handed down much 
traditional learning, it is blended with superstition, and 
new knowledge of any sort is barred. All science and 
inventions are naturally beside the mark when emphasis 
is laid chiefly on the life to come, and it is known that 

^ Manu, VIII, 299-300. 

2 There is, however, a remarkable stir in education to-day. The 
Gaikwar of Baroda first introduced free and compulsory education 
throughout his state, and other rajahs are following his lead. 



INDIA 89 

no amount of advance in methods, implements, and 
mental development can make the slightest change in 
one's position during the present life. The Hindus 
still plow with sticks of wood, as their remotest an- 
cestors did, and their wonderful soil fails to produce a 
tithe of what it might. Their crops are harvested and 
threshed by devices equally antique. They bake their 
bricks, work their metals, and weave their cloth with 
appliances that might have seemed crude to the early 
Egyptians. In fact, they still live in the first, rather 
than the twentieth, century. 

Similarly, the Hindus have, until recently, been 
greatly lacking in ambition, self-reliance, and personal 
responsibility, and have never come to any feeling of 
solidarity or national unity. They have cultivated the 
passive virtues, — patience, resignation, gentleness, 
peaceableness, and docility, and they are polite, 
respectful toward their parents and elders, and obedi- 
ent to authority ; but they have accomplished little 
for themselves or civilization, and have been conquered 
by one nation after another. The Macedonian Greeks, 
the Mohammedans, the Turkomans and Mongols, the 
Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British have succes- 
sively been masters of their land. To them progress, 
prosperity, and patriotism are foreign ideas. Despite 
all the Hindu's fineness of intellect and his idealistic 
religion, India seems typically * barbarian.' 



90 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

MuLLER, Max. Sacred Books of the East. Vols. I, II, VII, VIII, 
X, XIV, XVII, XX, XXII, XXV, XXVI, XXIX, XXX, XXXII, 
XXXVI, and XXXVIII. 

II. Authorities 

DuTT, R. C. Ancient India. 

DuTT, R. C. The Civilization of India. 

Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Aryan Races (A). 

Letourneau, C. Devolution de V education. Chap. XIV, A and B. 

MiJLLER, Max. The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated 

by the Religions of India. 
Ragozin, Z. a. Vedic India. 
Sayazi, Rao. Articles on Education by his Highness the Maharaja 

Gaikwar of Bar o da. 
Taylor, H. O. Ancient Ideals. 
TiELE, C. P. Outlifies of the History of Religions (translated). 

Chap. IV, I and II. 
Williams, M. M. Brahmanism and Hinduism. 



CHAPTER IX 

PERSIA 

Natural Influences. — The Persians seem to have had stemcon- 

• • 1 TT- 1 '-r-1 • ditions 

much the same origin as the Hindus. 1 he environment produced i 
into which they moved, however, was far different, and ^^lli^ 
they never lost the energy and aggressiveness of the 
Aryan. Instead of the enfeebling climate of India, 
with its prolific soil and dreamy inhabitants, they met 
with the stern conditions of a barren country and war- 
like peoples, and were spurred to greater activity by the 
bracing air of their surroundings. They came to dwell 
on the high table-lands, hedged on all sides by still 
loftier mountains, south of the Caspian Sea, and east of 
those Semitic countries at whose development we have 
already glanced. Although their country was grooved 
with many productive valleys, and was extremely fertile 
on the north as it sloped toward the Caspian, as a whole 
it was an arid land, and required a constant struggle to 
yield the barest living. Thus the Persians were soon 
tempted to prey upon the wealthy civilizations to their 
west, especially since these countries had been over-'^ 
come by luxury and sloth.^ j 

91 



92 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

whoab- About 550 B.C. the Persians absorbed their relatives, 

sorbed all the , -.^ 1 ■> /^ y- \- 

surrounding the Medes, who had themselves already (ooo B.C.), in 
nations. conjunction with the Chaldean Babylonians, come into 

possession of Assyria. Bactria and Elam had also been 
amalgamated with Persia, and Cyrus, king of the com- 
bined countries, set out to extend his empire. After 
conquering Lydia (545 B.C.), which had previously re- 
duced most of Asia Minor, the Medo-Persians turned 
against their former allies, the Babylonians, who were 
attempting to stay their progress, and easily overcame 
them (538 B.C.). Cyrus died a few years later (530 b.c.) 
while reducing the Scyths. His son and successor, 
Cambyses, carried the Persian conquest into Egypt, 
where he, too, met with death (525 b.c). The next 
sovereign, Darius, cousin of Cambyses, pushed his way 
into northern India (520 B.C.), and carried on aggres- 
sions in Thrace (515 e.g.), where the Persians came into 
close contact with the Greeks, and were led into the 
struggle (500-479 B.C.) which ended so disastrously 
for themselves. Out of this, too, grew the conquests 
of Alexander (336-323 b.c), and the final downfall of 
the Persian Empire. 
An excellent Government. — But for some time Persia ruled over 
wfsTormed" ^hc largest empire the world had known. Darius dis- 
played much wisdom as a statesman. He followed the 
Assyrian plan in dividing his dominion into ' provinces,' 
but greatly improved upon it. Each of the twenty 



in the 
provinces, 



PERSIA 93 

provinces was placed under a satrap, or governor, 
appointed by the Great King to act in his stead. This 
viceroy had as his assistants a civilian secretary, with a 
council, and a general, commanding an army. While 
the Persians insisted on firmly maintaining their rule 
and crushing any rebellion with great severity, they 
granted complete local autonomy. Each province was 
required to pay tribute in proportion to its means, but 
was allowed absolute freedom in its customs and re- 
ligion. Under such a centralized government these 
warlike nations were really better able to preserve and 
advance their civilization than if they had each been 
entirely independent. 

The administration at home was equally wise and and at home, 
strong. It was organized as a bureaucracy, and had 
seven tribal princes, seven judges, and various other 
officials who administered affairs, under the Great King. 
The laws were just and humane. In consequence, 
practically all within the Persian Empire came to feel 
a personal responsibility for its welfare, and, in spite of 
the way in which their dominions were spread out and 
separated by impassable mountains and unnavigable 
rivers, for a long space of time there remained a sense 
of national unity and a willingness to work together. 

Religion and Ethics. — As might be expected from Militant and 
the national characteristics, the religion of the Persians, reifgion! 
Mazdeism, was a militant one. It recognized two 



94 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



antagonistic spirits, Ahura-Mazdah} or Ormazd (* Lord 
Wisdom '), the omnipresent and omniscient creator and 
nourisher of all mankind, and Atira-Mainyu, or Ahri- 
man (' Enemy Spirit '), who arose from the conflict of 
forces when Ormazd created the universe, and was the 
source of all things evil in the world. It was believed, 
however, that Ahriman was inferior to Ormazd, and 
would eventually be vanquished by him. 

This spiritual conception seems to have been formu- 
lated first about 600 b.c. by a reformer named Zara- 
thiishtray or Zoroaster, as he is now commonly called. 
Somewhat before his day there existed a primitive wor- 
ship of natural forces ^ not unlike the Vedic. The 
earlier belief remained, but the good elements were 
treated as ministering angels of Ormazd, and the evil 
as subordinate demons of Ahriman. The chief good 
angels were thought to be the divinities of fire and 
light.2 Holy fires were consequently tended by an 
hereditary priesthood called the Magi, and the sun was 
worshiped by all. 

Light, however, was regarded by the more advanced 
merely as emblematic of truth, wisdom, virtue, and 

^ Compare the warrior deity, Ashur, whom the Medes may have 
adopted while in captivity to the Assyrians, 2200-800 B.C., and later iden- 
tified with Mazdah. The Medo-Persians gained much from their contact 
with Semitic peoples. 

2 Compare Agni and Indra, p. 78. See also Sayce, The Ancient Em- 
pires of the East, pp. 256-257. 



PERSIA 95 

purity. Hence men were urged, by overcoming evil 
impulses and desires, and by extending the power and 
civilization of their native land, to enter the contest of 
life on the side of light, and aid Ormazd in his ultimate 
victory over Ahriman. Professor Tiele says of Mazde- 
ism : '^The whole life of the believer is a constant 
conflict with evil, in which, as is universal in an- 
tiquity, little difference is made between physical and 
moral evil. Agriculture, likewise, and the care of clean 
animals and plants are powerful means of weakening 
the kingdom of impurity. But the love of truth, also 
vigilance and activity, are weapons which win the vic- 
tory in this contest." 

But, as in most of the other barbarian countries, the but the 
higher ideals were held only by the most intelligent Joined the" 
people ; and while they determined the general condi- worship of 
tion of religion and society, were not at all understood forces, 
by the masses, who largely retained the original wor- 
ship of natural forces. Yet even in this case there was 
no suggestion of idolatry, if Herodotus ^ is to be cred- 
ited, when, before describing the more overt ceremonies 
of the Persians, he says : " It is not their practice to 
erect statues, temples, or altars, but they charge with 
folly those who do so ; because, as I conjecture, they 
do not think the gods have human form, as the Greeks 
do." 

1 1, 131. 



96 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Moreover, a belief in bodily resurrection was gen-^ 
erally held by the Zoroastrians. At death a man's good 
deeds were supposed to be weighed against the evil, 
and if the good prevailed, he was sent to the 'Abode 
of Song,' where dwelt Ormazd and the saints; but if 
the evil surpassed the good, he was cast into the '.Lower 
World,' to be tortured by demons. Should the bal- 
ance stand even, a period of second probation was 
allowed him. It was believed, however, that even the 
wicked would in the end be purified and counted among 
the blessed. 
Virtues Clearly Mazdeism was an ethical religion and gave 

f jiof were 

inculcated, some value to personality and the desire to work out 
one's own salvation. The chief virtues, as would be 
expected in a religion of light and individual respon- 
sibility, were truth, justice, gratitude, courage, and self- 
control. There were naturally no castes, except pos- 
sibly in the case of the hereditary tribe of priests, the 
Magi. While, according to Herodotus,^ polygamy and 
concubinage were common, women were held in higher 
esteem than with most Orientals, and the Persians were 
naturally domestic. Children rendered a willing obedi- 
ence, and the family tie was held to be sacred. It was 
believed that he who slew a parent must be a change- 
ling or a bastard, for it was hardly to be supposed that 
one's own legitimate offspring could act in this way.'^ 

1 I, 135. * See Herodotus, I, 137. 



PERSIA 97 

The Zoroastrian ideas of religion are found in the The Zend- 

Avesta, or 

sacred books known as the Zend-Avesta (' The Law and sacred 
Its Interpretation '). Although Mazdeism began to creep 
into the old nature worship possibly about 900 B.C., 
it was not made a definite system before the time of 
its great prophet, Zoroaster, whose GatJias (' Psalms ') 
contain the most exalted and spiritual thoughts of the 
religion. The Zend-Avesta as a priestly code was 
hardly formulated into a canon until a hundred years 
or so after his time.^ In its present form it does not 
date earlier than the third or fourth century of our 
era, and it has probably been affected somewhat by 
Greek philosophy, and possibly also by Judaism and 
Christianity. There remains but a small portion ^ of 
the original work, containing, perhaps, one tenth the 
material in our Bible. These Zoroastrian scriptures 

1 The Greeks, however, speak of Zoroaster's having composed a million 
verses, and the Zoroastrian tradition itself asserts that there were two 
archetype copies of the Avesta, written on twelve thousand parchments, 
and that these two copies were destroyed by Alexander. 

2 The Avesta was neglected during the Greek (336-250 B.C.) and the 
Parthian (250 B.C.-226 A.D.) dynasties, but under the Sassanian mon- 
archs (226-652 a.d.), who restored Mazdeism, about one third of the 
original text was recovered. It was, however, even more scattered by 
the conquest of the Mohammedans (652 A.D.), who have ever since been 
in control of Persia. The remaining portions of the wqrk have been 
preserved by the few thousand adherents of Zoroaster that still live in 
Persia, chiefly in Yazd and Kirman, and by the nearly one hundred thou- 
sand Parsis, who are scattered through India, and more fully represent 
Zoroastrianism, 



98 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

may be divided into six parts. ^ The first four contain 
litanies and hymns of praise of greater or less impor- 
tance, the fifth 2 is a collection of religious rules and 
legends, and the sixth consists of a set of fragments 
and glosses. Most of the Avesta, except the Gathas, 
or its oldest psalms, is simple in thought and style. 
The metrical parts have considerable merit, but the 
prose is generally tiresome and lacking in spirit. 
Military pur- The Aim of Education. — The Persian ambition, how- 
ever, was not literary or scholastic. Under the circum- 
stances it was but natural that they should strive prin- 
cipally to produce a nation of soldiers, with all that 
implies in the way of physical education and training in 
valor and other virtues. 

Its Organization and Content. — ^^ Until he was five, 
the young Persian was trained at home by the women. 
According to Herodotus,^ his father never saw him, in 
order that he might not be grieved if the child should 
die in infancy. During this period the boy was sup- 
posed to be completely unmoral, and was not expected 
to distinguish between right and wrong, but simply to 
obey the directions given him. Girls were at no time 
allowed anything further than domestic training. 
Religious At five the boy's formal education began. Through 

g^iven'af ^ the family he was inducted into the national rehgion 



home; 



1 I.e. Yasna, Visperad, Yashis, and a group of Minor Texts. 

2 Vendidad. » j^ 136. 



PERSIA 99 

and its observances. Unless he belonged to the , 
wealthier classes, this haphazard knowledge, except 
possibly apprenticeship training in some occupation, 
constituted his entire education. 
(The more aristocratic boys, however, after this had and possibly 

• • T-. M 1 1 • 1M physical 

some military training, rossibly something not unnke and ethical, 
the rigorous plan of the Spartans was in vogue in 
Persia.^ Boys may have been exposed to hardships of 
all sorts in their daily living as a preparation for war- 
fare. They were probably also given a careful physi- 
cal and ethical training.^ In the open courts before the 
palace of the Great King or one of his satraps, it is said 
that they learned horseback riding, and shooting the 
bow, casting the sling, and throwing the javelin. It 
has been given as an instance of their skill that they 
could jump on or off the horse, or hit their mark, when 
the animal was going at full speed. On the other hand, 
they were taught to speak the truth,^ and cultivate 
justice, gratitude, courage, purity, and self-control. By 
means of their national traditions, they were inspired to 

1 The Cyropadia (' Education of Cyrus ') of Xenophon professes to 
describe this education, but we cannot put full confidence in its account. 
It is generally considered a story intended to laud the Spartan system of 
education, and pictures it in Persia as the ideal training. Modi describes 
it as a mixture of facts and fiction rather than merely a * political romance. ' 
In either case, its statements should be verified before they are accepted. 

2 Herodotus, I, 136. 

3 The importance of truth is emphasized again and again in the great 
cuneiform inscription of Darius on the Behistan Rock in western Persia. 



lOO A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

noble deeds, while by instruction in the prayers, myths 
of the gods, and other religious doctrines of Mazdeism 
their moral life was fostered. Other than in this indirect 
way, they probably received no literary or intellectual edu- 
cation. Reading and writing were scarcely taught at all. 
and military ( At fifteen, it has bccu supposcd, the boys were con- 
the state, sidered youths, and began their secondary education, 
which was even more specifically military. This brought 
them for the first time into the service of the state, and 
the event was attended with important religious cere- 
monies. The boy was bound with the sacred girdle 
as a protection against the demons of Ahriman ; he 
recited a ritual from parts of the Avesta, and swore 
to maintain the law of Zoroaster. 

The Magi alone required a higher education. This 
must have consisted in the study and explanation of 
the sacred writings, and may have included a limited 
training in philosophy, astrology, medicine, law, and 
finance, so that they were able to become advisers to 
the Great King and his satraps. 
They were Mcthod. — Siuce there was no intellectual education 

exampie^nd save this given the Magi, there was no opportunity 
imitation. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ method in teaching. What there was must 
have been very informal. In the case of military train- 
ing, it consisted largely in consciously imitating the 
example of men of dignity and good repute at the 
various courts. The moral education came from pre- 



PERSIA lOI 

cept, example, and the traditions of the nation, and 
was impressed by constant practice. 

Results. — Of all the nations in the transitional stage, in Persia 

- , . 1 . , was the 

the Persians, as a consequence of their educational highest de- 
system, probably furnish the closest approach to a ^ndi^duai-° 
regard for individuality. Their religious conceptions, '^"^ among 
which have so close a connection with the educational, nations, 
show almost as large an ethical element as those of 
Israel, which is to be classed among the nations that 
first tended to recognize personality in their education. 
Although the same intensity of moral sentiment and the 
compulsion of the sacerdotal law were not felt by the 
Persians, for that very reason, perhaps, they were freer 
in their moral judgment and less in bondage to hide- 
bound legalism than the Jews. On the other hand, 
while the Persians had no real caste system, their priest- 
hood was hereditary, women were not educated, and, as 
education existed mostly for the sake of occupation, the 
great mass of the people, who were not allowed to enter 
the army, received but little training of any sort. The 
government, too, was thoroughly despotic. 

/These latter characteristics, together with the natural Downfall of 
lack of geographical unity in the nation, contributed curredwhen 
not a little to the downfall of Persia. As long as mill- ^^hSr^. 
tary achievements were going on, the people at home '"^"^^ 
and in the various provinces felt that they were part 
and parcel of a great empire, and no oppression was 



102 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

noticed. But when the Persians came into possession 
of the entire Eastern world, with its great wealth and 
high culture but low morals, they were overpowered 
by vanity, luxury, and idleness, and dissensions and 
discord arose. The size and heterogeneity of the coun- 
try and the remoteness of the various parts afforded an 
excellent opening for corruption and intrigue. The 
majority of the people had never been taught to under- 
stand the lofty religion fully, and even with those who 
did, it became debased through contact with grosser 
beliefs and through the loose living of its adherents. 
The Persian education, too, which fitted them for war- 
fare and physical endeavor, despite its ethical elements, 
had neglected to prepare them for the arts of peace 
and the enjoyment of leisure, and left them unequal to 
the moral strain. Degeneration was rapid, and at the 
first onset of the vigorous Macedonians, the great 
empire burst into fragments, and left practically no 
impress on civilization. Persia, which might have 
proven the first type of Aryan progress, was forced to 
hand over the torch to the Athenian Greeks. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

MuLLER, Max (editor). Sacred Books of the East. Translated 
by various scholars. Vols. IV, V, XVIII, XXIII, XXIV, 
XXXI, and XXXVII. 



PERSIA 103 



II. Greek Authorities 

Herodotus, Bks. I and II ; Strabo, Bks. XI and XV ; Xeno- 
PHON, Anabasis, Bk. I, and CyropcBdia, especially Bk. I, 
Chap. II. 

III. Other Authorities 

Jackson, A. V. W. Persia, Past and Present. 
Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Aryan Races (B). 
Letourneau, C. Devolution de Peducatiott. Chap. XIV, C. 
Raavlinson, G. The Origin of Nations. Pt. I, Chap. VI. 
Rawlinson, G. Religions of the Ancietit World. Chap. III. 
Rawlixson, G. The Seven Monarchies of the Ancient World. 

Vol. II, Media and Persia. 
Sayce, A. H. The Ancient Empires of the East. IV and V. 
Tiele, C. p. Outlines of the History of Religions (translated). 

Chap. IV, II. 
Vaux, W. S. W. Persia. 



CHAPTER X 

CHARACTER OF THE EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 

Transitional Stage. — It can be seen from the fore- 
going account of certain typical peoples in the barbarian 
stage, that, while they differ much in details among 
themselves, certain common tendencies appear through- 
out their education and their civilization in general. A 
study of their ideals, together with the way in which 
they were carried out, and of the results, makes it evi- 
dent that, although superior to primitive conditions, their 
civilization had not yet attained to the level of later times. 
The Oriental Their advance over savagery is revealed in their 
be°un to ^ growing ability to analyze experience and to make 
control generalizations that were impossible for the primitive 

mind. They must have obtained some insight into 
nature and learned to formulate her laws. The use of 
fire became generally understood, and the metals were 
molded into weapons, utensils, and tools. They no 
longer wandered over the face of the earth in search 
of sustenance, but settled down and depended more or 
less upon agriculture. The sciences sprang up, and 
art, architecture, and handicrafts began to appear. A 

104 



CHARACTER OF EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 105 

division of labor naturally followed, and the blood tie 
of clan and tribe was gradually displaced by the rela- 
tionship of kindred occupations. 

Restricted Ideals. — However, with the exception of 
the Semitic nations, whose more advanced civilization 
imposed itself upon all with whom they came in con- 
tact, without being much affected in return, these 
peoples were largely isolated, and by an imperceptible 
selection of satisfactory activities, traditional forms of 
expression gradually grew up. After these had been 
conformed with sufficiently to fix them as social habits, 
they became ideals for education as well as for society 
in general. 

Thus, although social organization had become much 
more complex, the educational ideal, as in savagery, 
may be described as the satisfaction of immediate 
needs. While among primitive tribes education was 
the same for all individuals of the male sex, it had now, 
because of the division of labor that had grown up, 
become more differentiated and fitted for specific pro- 
fessions. In this way arose class distinctions, which in 
India at least were hardened into hereditary castes, but had class 
All of these nations intended that young people should andT'Ted 
be educated according to the position in society they thedeveiop- 

j , , ^ _ . , ment of the 

desired, expected, or, among the Hmdus, were required individual. 
to fill. 

They seem never to have realized the importance of 



I06 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the individual as the progressive factor in civilization. 
They supposed that all innovations were opposed to the 
welfare of the social group, and made a special effort 
to suppress the individual by every agency possible. 
Education was never regarded as a universal right or of 
universal value. It did not aim, apparently, to make 
the perfect man or citizen, but to maintain conditions 
as they had existed in the past. 
Education Occupational Content. — • Thus it came about that the 

consisted in . i , . , -i i i • ^i 

trainin for mdustnal classcs, who were engaged m the common- 
the occupa- place task of furnishing means of subsistence for all the 

tion one was 

to follow. people, and to some extent the warriors, who guarded 
the nation, received little education beyond reading, 
writing, and apprenticeship in the occupations they 
were to follow. Similarly, women were allowed no edu- 
cation at all except that which would aid them in their 
chief function, — keeping the home. While those who 
entered the sacerdotal class did secure some knowledge 
of the arts, sciences, and various learned professions, 
this was to be used merely for practical purposes, or 
for convincing the masses of the influence of the unseen 
in the providing of these immediate needs. 

Memory Method. — ■ This professional knowledge 
would seem to have been largely traditional and was 
insured against any change by being embalmed in the 
sacred books of the various countries. The method of 
teaching it naturally required a memorizing of the 



CHARACTER OF EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 107 

symbols in the text rather than a realizing of the mean- while the 
ing of these symbols as part of the pupil's life. Instruc- ^^^ merely 
tion did not consist in mere imitation, with practically no imitative, it ■ 

was memori- 

consciousness, as among primitive peoples, although it ter and never 
must have come very close to that line in China and e^^^i^^^'y 

-' rational. 

India, and it nowhere became genuinely rational. No 
effort was made to give a reason for the customs and 
traditional knowledge that were taught. Individuality 
was ignored, and all were taught alike, irrespective of 
interests and capabilities. When individual instincts 
revolted at this procedure, corporal punishment forced 
them to submit. 

Sacerdotal Organization of Schools. — Obviously, with Elementary 
this development of education, the training could no schools were 
longer be accomplished through imitative play or by instituted, 

. . but the latter 

participation m the activities of the group. The family were largely 
and the clan had, therefore, to yield to the school as a 'o'" the priest- 

-^ hood. 

medium. Both elementary and higher schools were 
gradually instituted. Education, however, seems to 
have retained some connection with the priesthood, as, 
from the nature of the subject-matter, higher educa- 
tion, except in China, was largely conducted at priestly 
colleges, and the teachers did not become separated 
from the sacerdotal class. 

Static Results. — The effect of such an organization Thus they 
of society and education was that it rendered progress freed^^T 
practically impossible, as all innovations were discour- theindivid- 



Io8 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

uai, and were aged. This was Seen not only in the immobility of the 
tothTpasT- political, social, and other external conditions of the 
and progress countries, but in the products of their inner life. Al- 

was rendered 

practically though their religion was of a much higher order than 
impossible, ^^^q crude animism and totemism of the savage, and its 
more advanced speculations approached monotheism, 
it was bound down by superstition and ceremonial. It 
had little effect upon their ethics, which were, for the 
most part, preceptive and prudential. Their art, archi- 
^ tecture, and handicrafts, while sometimes developed to 

a marked degree, especially among the Semitic peoples, 
were stiff and conventional. Although they produced 
considerable literature, it was stilted, repetitious, and 
formulaic. What science there was appears to have 
been traditional and mixed with charms and super- 
stition. 

So, while these nations in the transitional stage had 
largely overcome the primitive enslavement to nature 
and the necessities of the present, they allowed no 
freedom to the individual, and were subservient to the 
conventions of their society. They were completely 
in bondage to the past. Education with them, as 
with the primitive tribes, may well be described as 
non-progressive. They appear, however, to represent 
a definite step in the evolution from nature to culture. 
Although they had obtained some control over nature, 
with them the process of evolution had not yet become 



CHARACTER OF EARLIEST CIVILIZATION 109 

quite conscious of itself, and man had not come to 
strive for a realization of what he believed to be ideal 
in this process. Later on, society will be found to 
look to the future rather than the past, and to make 
a self-conscious attempt to promote human develop- 
ment in accordance with its remote ideal progressively 
revealed to thinking men. 



R' 



PART II 

THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIVIDUALISM IN 
EDUCATION 

CHAPTER XI 

ISRAEL AND JUD.EA (tHE JEWS) 

The Hebrews, or at least that portion of them 
known as the Israehtes, while classed among the 
nations of the Ancient Orient, deserve a separate 
treatment, because their history continued so much 
longer, and the stage of culture at which they arrived 
was so much higher in type. 

Survey of Jewish History and Religion. — According 
to the record, these people first appeared in a migration 
of tribes that started from the east side of the Euphrates,^ 
under the chieftainship of one Abraham, about twenty- 
three hundred years before Christ. They eventually 
arrived in the land of Canaan, now called Palestine. 
After some centuries of nomadic life in this country, a 
portion of the Hebrews,^ known as Israelites, or de- 

^ I.e. ' Ur of the Chaldees.' See Genesis, XI, 28 and 31. 
2 Hebrew probably meanf * dweller on the other side.' 
no 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) III 

scendants of Jacob, the reputed grandson of Abraham, 
wandered with their flocks and herds by successive migra- 
tions into the pasture lands of Goshen, or northeastern 
Egypt. This was probably during the reign of one 
of the later Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, who were 
possibly themselves of Semitic origin, ^ Within the 
land of the Pharaohs they continued their own pastoral 
pursuits, clan institutions, and language, until there 
arose a new dynasty and "a king over Egypt which 
knew not Joseph," who sought to deprive them of 
everything distinctive of their nationality, and force 
them into a degrading serfdom. 

From this desperate situation they were delivered introduction 
by the leader Moses. This hero introduced among of Jehovah. 
them the conception of Jahweh, or Jehovah, as a 
national deity who would protect his people if they 
were righteous. Having inspired them with this idea, 
he seized the opportunity during a series of scourges, 
in Egypt to lead out some two million of them across 
the Red Sea into the desert of the Sinaitic Peninsula. 
This brought them just south of Canaan and near to 
the other people of Hebraic origin, — the Edomites, 
Moabites, and Ammonites. 

At first the Israelites were held back by the vigorous 

^ The whole question of Israel's abode in Egypt is one of peculiar diffi- 
culty, and there is a wide variety of opinion among scholars regarding it. 
The racial relationship of the Hyksos is also very uncertain. 



112 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Canaanites from proceeding further, and were obliged 
to remain in the desert for some forty years. During 
this time the national feeling was further developed ; 
and Moses, possibly aided by the priesthood, exercised 
legislative and judicial functions on the authority of 
Jehovah. From the decisions and advice obtained 
in this way, traditions were rapidly built up and 
transmitted as the TJiorah (' Law '), although probably 
not committed to writing for many centuries. In the 
course of time the older generation was replaced by 
a hardier one born in the desert, and during a quarrel 
between their kindred tribes and the Amorites they 
were able to cross the Jordan, After many small wars 
Canaan was conquered by the Israelites and partitioned 
among the Twelve Tribes some thirteen or fourteen 
hundred years before Christ. 
The judges. While dwelling in this land, for two or three centuries 
there was little community of feeling, and dissensions 
were common. " Every man did that which was right 
in his own eyes," although at times there arose local 
chiefs, or 'judges,' some of whom attained to a greater 
or less degree of intertribal recognition. Their internal 
quarrels, however, were finally pacified by their common 
resistance to the Philistines, who had overwhelmed the 
Israelites, and carried off from the shrine at Shiloh the 
*ark,' or sacred symbol of Jehovah. For this reason, 
too, a war-chief became necessary, and, through the 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 113 

offices of the judge Samuel about 1095 B.C., a gigantic The kings, 
and impetuous Benjamite named Saul was chosen king 
and general. This warrior soon unified the undis- 
ciplined tribes and decisively defeated their various 
enemies. 

The selection of a king did not constitute the only 
service of Samuel in drawing the nation together. He 
perceived that the religious and patriotic enthusiasm en- 
gendered by the pressure of the Philistines might be 
used for the restoration and development of the religion 
of Jehovah. He organized into regular ' schools ' the The proph- 
' prophets,' or bands of fanatical devotees of the national 
God, which in Israel, as among other Eastern peoples, 
were in the habit of traveling through the land in a state 
of emotional excitement. At various centers these re- 
ligious revivalists were gathered together and dwelt in 
crude huts of their own erection. Their spiritual insight 
was systematically trained by a course of religious and 
lyric instruction, and they in turn diffused among the 
common people a knowledge of the essential truths of 
the religion of Jehovah. Thus during the following five 
centuries much was done through these schools of the 
prophets to develop the national religion and further 
unite the nation. 

Saul, however, deprived by death of Samuel's guid- Degeneracy 
ance, gradually degenerated, and was succeeded by 
David, a Judahite. This king recovered the ark, and, 



114 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

placing it in Jerusalem, did much toward securing per- 
manency of religious and political conditions. In the 
reign of David's son, Solomon, the long-planned temple 
was built, science and literature were advanced, com- 
merce and wealth were largely increased, and much was 

and the accomplished for the internal administration. The king 

the'kingdora. himsclf , howcvcr, succumbcd to luxury and indulgence ; 
and under his weak son, Rehoboam, in 930 B.C. the ten 
northern tribes revolted, and formed the kingdom of 
* Israel,' with Samaria as the capital. The two tribes 
that remained loyal to the house of David became 
known thereafter as the kingdom of * Judah.' 

The exile. This disruption eventually led to the downfall of both 

kingdoms. Israel, from its position, was constantly 
under the burden of warfare, and was finally overrun by 
Assyria in 720 B.C. Its inhabitants were deported and 
thus became ' the ten lost tribes.' Judah was rendered 
more stable through its isolated position and the influ- 
ence of its prophets, who continually sought to keep the 
kingdom out of the swirl of international politics. But 
in 586 B.C. Jerusalem was stormed by the Chaldean 
Babylonians, the temple was destroyed, and the people 
deported to Babylon. 

Foundation After the Persian conquest of Babylonia, the trans- 
planted inhabitants of Judah and their descendants 
were allowed in 536 b.c. to return to Jerusalem and 
rebuild the temple. However, not much was accom- 



ISRAEL AND JUDyEA (THE JEWS) 1 15 

plished toward the culture of the religion of Jehovah 
until the new immigration under Ezra and the arrival 
of Nehemiah as governor nearly a century later. Then 
there was founded a religious state known as Judaea,^ 
which, while under the nominal protectorate of Persia, 
left the real power in the hands of the high priest and 
his council of priests, scribes, and elders.^ 

Through this polity was produced a new movement 
in the religion of Jehovah. Probably during the reign 
of Josiah, just before the Babylonian exile, the tra- 
ditional rulings known as the Thorah were written 
down. While the people of Judah were in captivity, 
this code was the means of holding them distinct. 
Many additions, especially from the teachings of the 
prophets, were made during the exile ; and when Ezra, 
supported by Nehemiah, promulgated the Law upon 
their return, it must have contained the main stock 
of the present Pentateuch. Many amendments were 
afterward made, but from this time it became the magna 
charta of Judaism. With its publication revelation was 
supposed to be complete. The prophets had now 
disappeared, leaving behind a rich inheritance of ex- The scribes 
alted utterances, and the scribes became the recognized ^orks. 
authority in matters of religion under the name of 

1 Since then these people have been known as Jews rather than Israelites. 
^ The Sanhedrim, which arose under the Maccabees, may have been 
an outgrowth of this Council. 



Il6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Sopherim (' Scripture scholars '). Before the captivity 
their duties had been mostly clerical, but they now 
interpreted and administered ' the Law and the 
Prophets,' and added to them by their commentaries. 
Their works were finally collected and are known as 
the Talmud} They include the MisJma ('repetition'), 
which is the oral law that had been handed down as 
distinguished from the Thorah, and affords an account 
of various ceremonies and ordinances, and the Gemara 
('supplement'), which is composed of interpretations 
of the Mishna. These works have for the Jews an 
importance second only to that of the Scriptures. 
Laterhistory. Meanwhile, Judaea as a state continued its existence 
for a few centuries longer. In 323 e.g., upon the death 
of Alexander, who had conquered Persia, Judaea for 
nearly a century came under the sovereignty of the 
Ptolemies. Then for another hundred years it writhed 
under the rule of the Syrians ; but, after a struggle of a 
* quarter of a century, it was able to set up an independ- 
ent religious state under the Maccabees (142-64 B.C.). 
However, through sectarian quarrels, Rome was en- 
abled to reduce Judaea to a dependency, and, after 
various insurrections, in 70 a.d. Jerusalem was taken 
and the temple again destroyed. Since then, the Jews, 

^ There are two Talmuds, called the ' Palestinian ' and the * Babylo- 
nian ' respectively, after the place of their compilation. They differ in 
minor respects only. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) II7 

deprived of political existence, have spent their energy 
on the culture of their religious patrimony. Although 
scattered throughout all lands and nations, and univer- 
sally oppressed, they have through all these centuries 
preserved their identity and strength by the force of 
their long history, remarkable traditions, regard for 
education, and lofty religious conceptions. 

Development of Israelite Religion. — While the Israel- 
ites made a great advance over previous religions, in that 
Jehovah was from the beginning conceived to some 
extent as a god of ethical attributes, who preferred 
righteousness to sacrifice, yet the real development of Mosaic and 

pre-Mosaic 

their religious ideas was of very gradual growth. As conceptions, 
already indicated, their religion was probably given its 
distinctive form by Moses, and was most effective during 
the great emergency of escaping from the Egyptian 
bondage and settling in Canaan. The conception of 
Jehovah probably existed before this time, but possibly as 
of a deity belonging to one or more Israelitish tribes, — 
at least, it was much less developed than with Moses. 
There is some evidence also of the existence of poly- 
demonism, if not polytheism, in the pre-Mosaic religion, 
and traces even of animism and totemism seem to sur- 
vive from an earlier time in the Mosaic rites and wor- 
ship themselves.^ Certainly neither religious reflection 

^ Sacrifice must be regarded as a gift of food to the god, and a com- 
munion with the deity by partaking of the same flesh or being sprinkled 



Il8 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

nor moral principles could have been present, except in 
embryo, before the time of the exodus ; and for a long 
time after the introduction of the religion of Jehovah, 
custom was the all-prevailing influence. 
Henotheism. Even the religion of Moses should be described 
as a henotheism rather than a monotheism, for 
probably Jehovah was still regarded as one god 
among many, although the most powerful. He was 
simply the ' God of Israel,' the protector and de- 
liverer of his peoj^le, and the only one who could 
claim their gratitude, obedience, and worship. Nor 
did the religion of the Israelites become an absolute 
monotheism for a long time after their settlement in 
Canaan. As Israel came to participate in the agri- 
culture and viticulture of the Canaanites, they saw no 
inconsistency in adopting also the various Ba'als,^ that 
presided over the several districts. In course of time, 
as the people of Canaan were subdued more and more, 
Ba'al was gradually repudiated by the Israelites, and 
his property and functions absorbed by Jehovah. 
However, they appear to have seen no reason why 
the Canaanites should not worship him. For a similar 
reason, the erection by Solomon of shrines in honor of 

with the same blood ; and a similar idea underlies the ' covenant,' where the 
contracting parties walked between pieces of the animal laid opposite each 
other. Circumcision, too, is customary even at the initiatory ceremonies of 
savages as a sign that the youth has entered among the warriors of the tribe. 
^ These Ba'als were identified with Dionysus by the Greeks. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 1 19 

Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and other deities, to 
please his foreign wives, was probably regarded rather 
as unpatriotic than sacrilegious. And even the prophet 
Micah, as late as the eighth century, recognized 
the existence of other gods, though subordinate, when 
he said : " For all people will walk every one in the 
name of his god, and we will walk in the name of 
the Lord our God for ever and ever." ^ 

Moreover, for many centuries the Israelites had an Anthropo- 

, , . . ■ . . p _, . morphism. 

anthropomorphic, it not lower, conception of God. 
Jehovah was described as of human form, and his 
presence was made concrete by images and even 
symbolized by the bulls of Jeroboam at Bethel and 
Dan. Also mention was made of the existence of 
demigods, — * sons of gods,' ^ — who consorted with 
mortal women ; while ' angels ' were viewed as a sort 
of intermediate being between God and man. 

The transformation of these narrow conceptions and Loftier con- 
the real development of Israelite religion came about ^h^ prophets 
largely through the instrumentality of the prophets. 
Although they were laymen, in their fidelity to Jehovah 
and their zeal, they far outstripped the professional 
priesthood. At first they supported the throne, 
although, as in the case of Samuel, Nathan, and Elijah, 

1 Micah, IV, 5. 

^ Genesis, VI, 4, andyo3, I, 6. These conceptions were probably im- 
portations from foreign sources, as Egypt or Persia. 



120 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

they never hesitated to rebuke the king when they 
felt that he had sinned. But as the religious degen- 
eracy, especially of the northern kingdom, grew, they 
came to oppose the rulers openly, as well as the beliefs, 
tendencies, and customs of the times. They did their 
best to awaken the consciences of the people to nobler 
conceptions and loftier morality; and prophesied the 
downfall of the kingdoms, if the Israelites did not obey 
the laws of Jehovah in deed and spirit, and reject 
Ba'alism, Elijah especially fought most strenuously 
the coordination or identification ^ of Jehovah with 
Ba'al. In the ridicule he heaped upon the prophets 
of Ba'al,^ he went far beyond the henotheistic position 
and completely denied the existence of other gods than 
Jehovah. Other prophets also declared that " Jehovah 
is the only true God, and beside him there is none ; " 
and while they described him nearly always as working 
for his own people, they taught that all nations would 
eventually be brought within his plan of salvation for 
the world. 

Again, while the prophets resorted occasionally to 
anthropomorphic descriptions, there is in them no trace 
of the original naive belief in a human form, and they 

^ The reaction from this inconsistent syncretism produced such extreme 
individuals as the Nazarites, who insisted upon abstinence from the use 
of wine, as savoring of the Ba'al cult, and the Rechabites, who went so 
far as to protest against all civilization with agriculture in it, and even 
tried to revive the nomadic life of the desert. ^ i Kings, XVIII, 1 7-40. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 121 

waged a ceaseless warfare against the use of images. 
These they felt to be unworthy of his universality and 
his superiority to restriction in space or time. Through 
them he was invested with all the quaUties of morality 
and holiness. 

However, with the return from the Babylonian cap- Formalism 

of the scribes. 

tivity and the growing prominence of the scribes, there 
was a descent from the lofty teachings of the prophets. 
As the Mishna and the Gemara expanded, the religious 
life of the Judaeans more and more became one of for- 
mal observance. Ceremonial, legal dicta, and other 
prescriptions rapidly multiplied and flourished. For- 
mal obedience to the Law remained, but it took on more 
of the character of a business contract with the Deity, 
in which each party was obligated to fill his own part, 
although even in this a moralizing tendency was ap- 
parent. 

Thus, beginning with Moses, the religion of Jehovah summary of 
grew and expanded. Through all its stages, — the dete'iopment. 
formulation of priestly tradition, the spiritual develop- 
ment of the prophets, and the formal interpretations 
of the scribes, it emphasized the moral law, and gener- 
ally regarded God as an Infinite Being in personal touch 
with man.^ The people of Israel were probably not 

^ The later Judaism hardly regarded God as in contact with man. In 
fact, God was highly transcendent, so that intermediaries were con- 
sidered necessary between God and the world. Hence arose their 



122 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



the first to grasp the henotheistic conception, as can be 
seen from the history of other Oriental peoples, and 
possibly the Hindus and Zoroastrians at least may be 
said to have anticipated them in attributing the char- 
acteristic of universality to their deity ; but they cer- 
tainly were the earliest people to develop monotheism, 
and to grasp the conception of God as a self-existent, 
moral personality in vital relations with his people. 

Educational Ideals. — Thus it can be seen that through- 
out all periods of their history the Jews had ingrained 
in them the conception of God as the preserver and law- 
giver of his people. This was accompanied by the 
belief that to act in harmony with the Divine will 
was the highest duty of man. All law, civil and 
ecclesiastical, was, in consequence, regarded simply 
as the expression of the will of Jehovah, and no dis- 
tinction was ordinarily made between patriotism and 
religion. 

The chief aim of education, therefore, was religious 
and moral. As early as Deuteronomy the command 
appears: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
might. And these words which I command thee this 
day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them 



* angelology,' borrowed from Persian and other sources, and the apothe- 
osis of the Thorah and of the Metnra (' word ') of Jehovah. See Schiirer, 
History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 123 

diligently unto thy children." ^ The building of charac- 
ter was looked upon as the one goal to be achieved, and 
but little stress was placed upon knowledge of any sort 
except as it achieved this end. So from the first the 
pupils were trained preeminently in that * fear of the 
Lord,' which * is the beginning of wisdom ' ; ^ and, as 
traditions developed, this came to include an acquaint- 
ance with ritual and ceremonial duties. In keeping with 
their mxoral aim, the Jews strove also to make their 
training practical. " Not learning, but doing, is the 
chief thing," declares the Mishna,^ and their education 
always contemplated a preparation for the concrete 
duties of life in matters of trade and occupation, as 
well as of religion and ceremonies. 

Pre-exilic Education. — Until after their exile there 
was no public means of education among the Jews. 
Children were taught in the family by their parents. 
During their earliest childhood both sexes were under 
the mother's care; but later, boys accompanied their 
fathers to the field or workshop, while the girls remained 
at home with their mothers. Thus, through the family, Family as 
was given that religious and ethical instruction which ^™^* 
is especially characteristic of the Jews. The boys and 
girls alike learned the history of their own people and 
of God's dealings with them, the different codes of the 

1 Deuteronomy, VI, 5-7. 2 Proverbs, IX, lO. See also I, 7. 

8 Aboth, I, 17. 



124 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Pentateuch, the beautiful lyrics of the Psalms, and the 
wisdom of the Proverbs. Also at the appropriate time 
their parents explained the significance of their re- 
ligious observances, such as the festival of the Pass- 
over, commemorative of their escape from Egypt, and 
that of the Pentecost, which celebrated the reception of 
the decalogue on Mount Sinai. At the same time with 
this ethical and social training, and as part of it, every 
boy was fitted for the practice of a trade through his 
father ; and the girls were taught such arts as cooking, 
weaving, and clothes-making, in the home by their 
mothers. 

Facilities for formal schooling practically did not 
exist before the Babylonian captivity. Reading and 
writing were at first not taught at all, but some knowl- 
edge of these rudiments may have been given in the 
larger cities after the founding of the kingdom. Also, 
when the Israelites were well settled in Canaan, pos- 
sibly tutors were sometimes employed by the wealthy, 
just as Solomon was instructed by the prophet Nathan ; 
but, as a rule, such elementary education as they had 
was carried on by the parents. 
Schools of Higher education was scarcely known until after the 

e prop e . ^^^■^q Even the priesthood and scribes were limited to 
a certain knowledge of law, and of historical and judicial 
literature. In the schools of the prophets, besides 
theological interpretation and the law, they appar- 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 125 

ently learned only the arts of sacred music and poetry, 
whereby they were to be stimulated to greater ecstasy, 
and were instructed in the compilation of maxims, nar- 
ratives, and annals. It has been claimed that they 
were taught some mathematics and astronomy, to mark 
off the religious festivals, but this is very doubtful. 

Post-exilic Education. — During their captivity the 
Jews had an opportunity to see schools for higher 
training, which were well developed in Babylon. These 
were, however, intended only for the priesthood and 
aristocracy ; but the extension of such opportunities to 
all classes, which was effected upon their return, origi- 
nated distinctly with the Jews. But even with them, 
while there was theoretically no distinction in classes, 
the degree of culture customarily obtained by the priest, 
prophet, scribe, and lay aristocracy was greater than 
that of the ordinary man. 

i This provision for a higher education was probably Higher 
made shortly after the return of Ezra by the rebuild- 
ing of the Temple and the foundation of synagogues. 
These latter institutions were originally not places of 
worship, but of religious instruction. In order that the 
Thorah, which had now been promulgated and accepted 
by the people, should be generally studied and read, 
systematic exposition and instruction by such qualified 
teachers as the scribes were necessary. After the third 
century b.c, the scribes gave this instruction within the 



126 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Content of 
the higher 
course. 



porticoes of the Temple also, and sometimes in their 
own homes or those of wealthy patrons. A little later, 
when elementary schools had also been established at- 
the synagogues, this college of the scribes came to be 
known as Beth ham-Midrash ('House of Instruc- 
tion'); and in Jerusalem every scribe of note had a 
following of his own. 

The teaching at these colleges was intended for 
those who wished to make a deeper study of the Law, 
and was advanced in character. It was given the youth 
after the reading, writing, and other elementary edu- 
cation had been furnished at home. It consisted, if we 
may judge from the Proverbs, of instruction in such 
virtues as prudence, temperance, chastity, truthfulness, 
charity, and diligence, and in disputations concerning the 
interpretation of the Law, the ritual, and other prescrip- 
tions. Possibly it was influenced also by the educational 
ideals of the times, especially of the Greek schools; and 
afforded a training in mathematics, astronomy, geography, 
and such other sciences as were known, and in foreign 
languages, especially Greek, which, after Hebrew, stood 
highest of all literature in the estimation of the Jews. 

In the second century before Christ the public ele- 
mentary school began to grow up, and in the end 
became the most prominent feature of the Jewish 
education. After the spread of Greek ideas, such an 
institution was naturally started in Jerusalem as pre- 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 12/ 

paratory to the higher education of the scribes. This Held in 
school, however, was probably also taught by scribes, with the 
and was in close connection with the synagogue, which sy°^e°g"^' 
had now been established even in every village. It was 
generally held in a room of the synagogue, or in the 
house of the scribe who was teaching it. The famous 
scribe, Simon beii Shetach (' Simon, son of Shetach '), 
had attendance at these schools made compulsory 
upon all children in Jerusalem as early as 75 b.c. ; 
and, in 64 a.d., the requirement was extended by 
Josue ben Gemala (* Joshua, son of Gamaliel ') to every Made com- 
province and town. That the training might be effec- au towns? 
tive, Joshua also required that, after the number of 
pupils in a school had passed beyond twenty-five, the 
teacher must be given an assistant; and when it ex- 
ceeded forty, two teachers must be employed. Rich 
and poor alike might attend these schools without a 
fee, but the wealthy probably paid a special school 
tax. After the fall of Jerusalem, these elementary 
schools, now known as * rabbinical ' ^ schools, became of 
the utmost importance, as they were the great means of 
preserving the faith of the Jews, wherever they wan- 
dered in their dispersion. A well-known maxim of 
these people was : "A town without schools and school 
children should be destroyed." 

^ About the time of Christ the scribes came to be called Rabbi (' mas- 
ter'), and soon displaced the priests altogether. 



128 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Internal 
organization. 



Content of 
the elemen- 
tary course. 



In the first elementary schools the children stood 
or sat upon the ground and faced the teacher, who 
was seated a little above them, also upon the ground. 
Later on, benches, and even stools and cushions, were 
introduced. The pupils sat in front of the teacher, in 
order that, in keeping with the words of Isaiah,^ they 
might watch his face as he spoke. The school hours 
lasted all day with the exception of a short recess at 
noon, although possibly games were interspersed or 
the monotony was varied by the recitation of parables 
and legends from the Mishna. School was held every 
day, except on the Sabbath and on feast days. 

I When the children came to school at six years of 
age, they had already learned from their parents 
select Proverbs and verses from the Psalms, and had 
been taught the significance of the various religious 
ceremonies. Between six and ten they were taught 
reading and writing, mostly from the Pentateuch as text, 
and a little arithmetic. Especial attention was given 
to correct pronunciation and due reverence in reading. 
Then, until they were fifteen, the teacher explained the 
Mishna or oral law to them ; and if their studies were 
continued beyond this in a synagogue, they consisted, 
as already seen, in a discussion and criticism of the 
Gemara, and embraced all the subjects necessary to 
throw light upon the interpretations. Besides these 

1 Isaiah, XXX, 20, 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 1 29 

religious and literary studies, all pupils, rich or poor, 
were obliged to learn some handicraft. " As it is your 
duty to teach your son the Law, teach him a trade," 
reads the old maxim. This was partly for the sake of 
breadth, but it was largely intended as a recreation 
and rest. 

Girls must have been trained as well as boys, for Education 

of £firls. 

it is well known that the mothers of Judaea have 
always been of great importance in educating the 
family. Probably the training was more emotional 
than intellectual, — *to fear God and keep his com- 
mandments.' Although girls were taught to read, 
the deeper study of the Thorah was not encouraged, 
and the domestic arts, dancing, and music largely 
took the place of science. 

Educational Method. — The method of learning in 
the Jewish elementary schools was not unlike that of 
other Oriental peoples. Frequent repetition was re- 
quired for the purpose of committing a text and 
obtaining a distinct pronunciation, and the loud tone 
in which this was done suggests the memorizing of 
the Chinese and Hindus. The Jews, however, had 
learned to make a practical appeal to various memories 
through the different senses, — to the visual memory 
by reading, the motor by pronouncing and writing, the 
auditory by hearing, and the musical by singing, the 
portions to be committed. It was realized that much 



130 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Appeal to 
memory 
assisted by 
mnemonics. 



Pedagogical 
wisdom. 



care should be exercised in the beginning, as what is 
learned then remains in the mind 'like ink on fresh 
paper.' Also many mnemonic helps were at all times 
used to impress the memory. Catchwords, symbols, 
numerical groupings, and other devices were invented. 
The most ingenious of these was probably that of 
the *Athbash,' by which the initial words of lines or 
verses in a passage were so arranged with consecutive 
letters of the alphabet as to be easily recalled.^ 

The Jews also had sufficient practical knowledge 
of psychology to realize that different types of mind 
must be approached by different methods. The Tal- 
mud recognizes four classes of pupils, — the 'sponge,' 
who absorbs everything; the 'funnel,' who retains 
nothing; the 'sieve,' who catches the illustrations, 
but lets the main argument slip by; and the 'winnow,' 
who fans away the illustrations, but holds the more 
solid portion. Much other good pedagogical advice 
can be found in their sacred literature, although, with 
the menioritev method in vogue, it may be questioned 
whether some of these recommendations were not 
rather ideal than realized in practice. For example, 
Rabbi Akiba's advice that "the teacher should strive 
to make the lesson agreeable by clear reason " is hardly 
compatible with the system of literal memorizing. 
However, the statements of the Talmud that, in pre- 

^ The whole of Lameniations was constructed after this plan. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 13 1 

senting a lesson, the teacher should be careful not to 
digress and so confuse the pupil, that he should not 
assign too much at one time, and that pauses should 
be periodically given that the pupil might have time 
to rest his mind and digest the matter, seem to be 
sensible suggestions which could very well have been 
applied. Also the use of various rites as object lessons ^ 
to arouse inquiry leading up to an explanation is 
known to have been very successful in religious 
instruction ; and the general advice to the teacher to 
pique the curiosity of the pupil by asking odd ques- 
tions may also have produced good educational results. 

Writing was taught by following the copy on a wax Methods in 
tablet with a stylus, and when the pupil was more ad- higher edu- 
vanced, on papyrus or parchment with a pen. The '^^^'°"* 
higher education was nominally conducted in the 
form of a disputation, but was, nevertheless, rather 
dogmatic in character, and the final dictum of the 
teacher was literally memorized. Some of the inter- 
pretations must have been very artificial. Every line of 
the sacred literature was given a microscopic examination 
by the scribes, and frequently a very far-fetched mean- 
ing ^ was read into it. 

All teachers were held in high esteem, as they were Esteem for 
the interpreters of truth and morals, and were largely 

1 See Exodus, XII, 24-28; XIII, 5-10 and 14-16; Joshua, IV, 6-8. 
^ See Farrar, History of Interpretation, Lecture II. 



132 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Their quali- 
fications. 



Rigorous 
discipline. 



looked upon as the mouthpieces of Jehovah. Disrespect 
toward them was treated as irreverence and severely 
punished. The Talmud says : " You should revere the 
teacher even more than your father. The latter only 
brought you into this world ; the former indicates the 
way into the next." On the other hand, much was 
required of them. For the sake of morality a teacher 
had to be married, and he was expected to be able, 
experienced, and not too young. " Instruction by a 
young teacher," declares the Talmud, " is like sour 
grapes and new wine ; while by an old teacher, it is 
like ripe grapes and sweet wine." Many bits of advice 
are also given the teacher concerning his education, 
piety, self-control, and veracity. 

Although the teachers usually combined their profes- 
sion with the practice of some trade, probably they 
were often compensated, except in the higher subjects. 
No definite fee was paid, but probably presents, espe- 
cially from the wealthier pupils, were given them. 

\The discipline of the Jewish schools must, from 
the nature of the subject-matter and the methods of 
teaching, have been rigorous. Corporal punishment 
is constantly advised in the Proverbs,^ although wise 
reproof is recognized as better on some occasion s.^ 
After the pupils were old enough to make an appeal to 

'^Proverbs, XIII, 24; XIX, 18; XXIII, 13-14; etc. 

^ibid.,:^vii, 10. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 133 

their honor effective and have their pride hurt by a 
whipping, the form of punishment was not so severe. 
Where corporal punishment was used at all with older 
boys, it was applied not with the rod, but with the thong 
of a sandal. In Talmudic times, especially after the 
advent of Christ, discipline became much milder, but 
chastisement was still recognized. A new type of bor- 
rowed interest was also added in the shape of various 
rewards, such as sweetmeats and dainties, which were 
used as a stimulus to good conduct. 

Effect of Jewish Education on Progress. — Thus the Religious 
education of the Jews was the typical religious and 
moral training of antiquity, and through it they became 
the religious people par excelletice. As soon as he was 
old enough to understand, even before his formal train- 
ing in the schoolroom, every Jew had ingrained in 
him the idea of Jehovah as a God of moral attributes, 
who is in touch with man and requires of him righteous 
conduct as the ground of approval. Human person- 
ality he learned to regard as a reflection of the Divine. 
Such conceptions of God, man, righteousness, and duty 
are easily seen to be far nobler than any that had 
previously been formulated among the other peoples of 
the Orient. Through them a new factor, the develop- 
ment of moral personality, was introduced into education. 

Even the extensive ceremonial and overelaboration despite the 
of the Law introduced through the scribes could not 



134 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

altogether destroy the spirit underlying the formalism. 
While the Law has always been obeyed in all respects 
as an absolute authority, and so has become an external 
sanction rather than an appeal to reason and the inner 
light, it has been a moral law, filled with high principles, 
and could not altogether fail as a stimulus to moral 
action for any, while to a few moral geniuses in every 
generation it has been the inspiration of loftiest motives. 
It is this ideal and content alone which distin- 
guishes the education of the Jews from that of all other 
Oriental nations. In the organization of education, they 
do not compare favorably with China or India. For a 
thousand years they had no such institution as a school, 
and it was not until a few centuries before their extinc- 
tion as a nation that they founded any real public 
schools. Elementary education did eventually become 
universal among them, but that was only six years prior 
to the fall of Jerusalem. Their methods, while apply- 
ing some very clever pedagogical devices, were almost 
as largely memoriter and imitative as those of barbarian 
peoples, and the discipline accompanying them was in- 
clined to be severe until late in their educational history. 
Literature The objective products of this type of education are 

ligion. illustrative of its merits and defects. The literature 

was naturally limited to an expression of the Jewish 
idea of God's dealings with the world, and the devotion 
that should go out to him from the pious soul. Art 



ISRAEL AND JUD.EA (THE JEWS) 135 

and science were almost entirely unknown, except as and art and 

science 

they threw hght on some religious festival or custom, almost un- 
On the other hand, the effect of their religious and ^'^°^°' 
educational ideals has always been seen in the beauti- 
ful family life and other social relations of the Jews, but their 
Women were never held in degradation among them, was beautiful, 
as often among the other Oriental peoples, but were 
generally shown esteem ; children were treated with 
kindness and thoughtful care; while reverence toward 
father and mother was one of the virtues first taught to 
the Jewish child. 

Thus through their high concepts of God and of Their edu- 
human obligations, the Jews have been held together preserved 
through centuries of trials and persecutions, and have ^^uiries 
found their religion and education a comfort and a con- 
solation in the midst of them all. No other Oriental 
nation of their day has remained, but the Jew with 
his moral discipline is with us yet. Had their ethical 
ideals been kept clear of excessive ceremonial, formal- 
ism, and narrowness of view, and developed as in the 
days of the prophets, they might indeed have become 
'the hght of the world.' As it is, they gave birth 
to the great religion which was needed to emancipate 
them from the bondage of form and restricted vision,^ 

^ A most remarkable attempt to give the Jewish religion this uni- 
versality was made by Philo the Jew in the first years of the Christian era. 
This seems also to be the aim of the advanced wing of Judaism to-day. 



136 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

and which has made its resistless way to all nations. 
This result, however, was not accomplished until con- 
tact with the Graeco-Roman civilization had enlarged 
the horizon of philosophy and religion. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

JosEPHUs, Old Testament, Talmud. 

II, Authorities 

CoRNiLL, H. H. History of the People of Israel. 

Gelder, H. Die Volksschtde des Juifs. 

Gratz, H. H. History of the Jews. 

Hastings, J. A Dictionary of the Bible. Articles on Education, 
History of the Israelites, and Religion of the Israelites. 

Hosmer, J. K. The Jews, Ancietit, Medieval, and Modern. 

Kent, C. F. A History of the Hebrew People. 

KiTTEL, R. A History of the Hebrews. 

KoHLER, Deutsch, and Jacobs. Jewish Encyclopedia. Article on 
Education. 

Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Semitic Races, B. 

McCuRDY, J. F. History, Prophecy, and the Monuments. 

Marcus, S. Die Pddagogik des Israelitischen Volkes. 

Marcus, S. Zur Schid- Pddagogik des Talmud. 

Marti, K. Religion of the Old Testament. 

Montefiore, C. G. The Origin and Growth of Religion as Illus- 
trated by the Religion of the Aficient Hebrews. 

Peters, M. C. Justice to the Jew. 

Renan, E. History of the People of Israel. 



ISRAEL AND JUD^A (THE JEWS) 137 

Robertson, J. The Early Religion of Israel. 

Sayce, a. H. The Early History of the Hebrews. 

SCHURER, E. History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus 

Christ. 
Simon, J. V education et instruction des enfants chez anciens 

Juifs. 
Smith, H. P. Old Testament History. 
Smith, W. R. The Prophets of Ancient Israel. 
Spiers, B. The School System of the Talmud. 
Strassburger, B. Geschichte der Erziehung und des Unterrichts 

bei den Israeliten. 
Wellhausen, J. Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels. 



_j:( CHAPTER XII ' 

SPARTA AND ATHENS (tHE GREEKS) 

Of all people in ancient times, or, as some believe, in 
all history, the Greeks have had the greatest influence 
upon civilization. Certain it is that they not only gave 
a wonderful impetus to educational theory and practice 
in their own time, but ever since then the world has had 
constant recourse to Greek thought for inspiration and 
counsel. ,' In some respects their development of indi- 
viduality was superior even to that of the Jews, and in 
any account of educational history they are worthy of 
extended notice. 

Physical and Social Factors in the Progress of the 
Greeks. — Both the natural and the spiritual environ- 
ment of Greece favored the development of lofty and 
original ideals. The mild and even climate tended 
toward happiness and equanimity, and the bracing air 
was stimulating to thought. The coast line was broken 
by many gulfs and bays, and its almost unlimited har- 
borage proved most hospitable to commerce. Happily, 
this was especially true of the eastern coast, so that 
Phoenicia and other advanced countries were enabled 
to bring in with the wares of the Orient its arts and 

138 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 139 

civilization. Thus every physiographic and social fea- 
ture combined to make old Greece broad-minded and 
eager to adopt from foreign countries such ideas as 
would improve her society and laws. 

Outline of Greek History. — But let us see what is 
meant by 'ancient Greece.' We find that old Greece, — 
or Hellas, to use her proper name, was not a single 
nation, but was made up of an aggregation of states on 
the southeast peninsula of Europe and on those adjacent 
islands to which the population had overflowed. The Effect of the 

, isolation of 

various states of Hellas, largely as a result of topog- the Greek 
raphy, were never really unified into a confederacy, ^^^^^^' 
except in small groups and for short periods of time.^ 
The mountain ranges with which the entire peninsula 
is covered, or the Mediterranean itself, isolated the dif- 
ferent centers from each other, and, by making connec- 
tion between them difficult, prevented the rise of any 
great likeness of thought or sentiment. The states, in 
consequence, varied considerably in character, govern- 
ment, social conditions, and even in the dialect spoken. 
Community of interest appeared only when they banded 
together to repel a common foe, such as the Persians, 
or gathered upon stated occasions at the great national 
games, such as the Olympic, Isthmian, and Nemean. 

^ Some attempt at a complete confederation was made toward the end 
of Greek history in the formation of the ^tolian and Achaean leagues, 
but these were unsuccessful and short-lived. 



140 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Sparta and 
Athens, 



Prehistoric 
period. 



The most important and typical states were Sparta 
and Athens, and, as they will amply illustrate the evo- 
lution of educational theory and practice in Greece, 
attention will here be largely confined to them. In fact, 
the really distinctive contributions that Hellas made to 
civilization grew up in Athens alone from about the 
middle of the fifth century onward. Athens before 
that time, and Sparta throughout her whole history, 
were controlled by an education that was at best but 
little beyond that of the Orient. This type of training 
is of importance here simply as it throws light upon 
the development of those social products that are typi- > 
cal of the Greeks, and from which modern culture has y- 
sprung. v'' 

The accounts of earliest Greece are mythical, and 
extend back, as nearly as can be estimated, to at least 
the twelfth or thirteenth century before Christ. This 
prehistoric period includes the Tribal Age, when the i 
Greeks were in the nomadic stage ; the Mycenean Age, 
when, through contact with the Orient, they learned to 
build cities and practice agriculture; and lastly, the 
Epic Age, which seems to bring them a little further 
toward civilization. While not much is known of 
actual events during the prehistoric period, we can, from 
the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, and from excavations 
at Mycenae, Argos, and Cnossus, gain some knowledge 
of how the Greeks lived at the time. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 141 

( Really authoritative records, however, can be said to Origin and 

^""~--- effect of cL 

date only from the first Olympiad, 'j'jS b.c. During military 
historic times Sparta seems to have been the first of sp^ta/" 
the Greek states to become prominent. This was due 
to her military system of education, which in turn arose 
as the result of social conditions. Somewhere about 
the eleventh century the Dorian tribe, to which Sparta 
belonged, had pushed aside the primitive inhabitants 
from their homes in the Peloponnesus, and had taken 
their place. Thus the citizens of Sparta, while in their 
own land, dwelt in the midst of hostile people. In the 
surrounding towns and country were the perioeci {' dwel- 
lers around '), who were free, but paid large taxes for the 
use of their lands, and largely supported the Spartans. 
Then there were the helotes (* captives '), who had been 
taken in war, and were forced to remain in serfdom and 
do all the menial work for the citizens. So it came about 
that there were in all about two hundred and fifty 
thousand of the subject people to not more than nine 
thousand Spartans; and the latter were constantly men- 
aced by an uprising of the conquered tribes, as well 
as by attacks from the outside. These dangers were 
aggravated by the notorious slothfulness in military 
matters into which they had fallen. 

To guard against this, it became necessary for the 
entire body of free Spartans to organize themselves into 
a citizen army, and arrange for a system of education 



142 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

that would produce a race of warriors. A statesman 
named Lycurgus, in whom they had great confidence, 
was selected to formulate a code of laws that should be 
binding on all and would transmute the desired ends 
into national habits. This was probably as early as the 
middle of the ninth century, but the scheme of educa- 
tion remained in vogue almost without change until the 
Greek states lost their independence. Although toward 
the end the system degenerated somewhat, during the 
early days it gave Sparta a decided advantage, espe- 
cially as the other states tended to neglect military 
training; and by the middle of the seventh century 
she had become the leading state of Greece. 
Athenian Meanwhile, in the north, Athens had been greatly de- 

development. ,...,,. it .-r^, , 

velopmg m mtelhgence and polity. The monarchy was 
eventually displaced by an aristocracy in 753 B.C. Then 
the oppression of this type of rule was gradually re- 
moved from the people through the publication of the 
laws by Draco (621 b.c), the freeing of the masses by 
Solon (S94 B.C.), and the crushing of the nobles by Pi- 
sistratus and his sons (560-510 b.c), until finally it was 
possible for Clisthenes (510-508 b.c.) to declare the 
most thoroughgoing democracy in all history. As a 
result of his reforms, every matter of importance was 
settled in the public assembly by vote of all the citizens; 
public officers were chosen by ballot, or even by lot, so 
high was the general intelligence ; and the people were 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 143 

annually permitted by a secret vote known as ostracism'^ 
to exile any man, however aristocratic, whose presence 
was felt to be inimical to the general welfare. 

Under such circumstances, Athens came rapidly to Supremacy 
self-consciousness, and, feelmg her superiority to Sparta, 
eagerly sought occasion to prove it. The opportunity 
presented itself in the outbreak of the Persian wars in 
500 B.C. In the course of the three expeditions (492, 
490, and 480-479 B.C.) that Persia made against Greece 
and in which the Persians were so thoroughly repulsed, 
Athens displayed the greatest wisdom and valor, and 
stood preeminent in defense of the entire country. 
Toward the close of the contest with Persia (479 b.c), 
she became the head of the alliance known as the Con- 
federacy of Delos, which was formed at this time to 
prosecute the war. Gradually the allies of Athens were 
reduced to subjects; and, under the influence of Peri- 
cles, an imperial policy was formally adopted, and the 
treasury removed from Delos to Athens in 454 b.c. 

The culmination of Athenian prosperity is seen in the The Peri- 
enlightened period called the Age of Pericles, from the 
leading statesman of the time. This great leader felt 
justified in expending the funds of the Confederacy of 
Delos to beautify the city with architecture, sculpture, 
and painting ; and soon became known as a patron of 
art and literature. As a result, these cultural features 

1 From the ostrakon (' tile '), upon which each ballot was inscribed. 



144 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



« 



Peloponne- 
sian War 
and the he- 
gemony of 
Sparta. 



came to flourish as never before in the world's history. 
On the Acropolis and other heights arose the most beau- 
tiful temples, such as the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, 
and the Theseum. These and other structures were 
adorned by the marvelous statues of Phidias and Myron, 
and the lifelike paintings of Polygnotus. Nearly all 
types of literature also go back to this period for their 
origin. The 'father of history,' Herodotus, and the 
most illustrious of ancient historians, Thucydides, and 
the graphic Xeaophon appeared ; the great trio of tragic 
writers, yEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the 
most famous of comic dramatists, Aristophanes, pro- 
duced their masterpieces ; and a period of enlightenment 
in philosophy dawned with the sophists and Socrates.^ 
Industries and commerce were also extended, and a re- 
markable development in politics and practical affairs 
took place. This was the day of Cimon, Themistocles, 
Aristides, Cleon, Nicias, and Alcibiades, as well as of 
Pericles. 

However, the political supremacy of _ Athen s before 
long came to an end in the conflict with Sparta known 
as the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.). This strug- 
gle was inevitable from the intense rivalry of the two 
great states, but it was begun and continued through a 



1 The impulse given to culture in Athens did not altogether cease with 
the Age of Pericles, as such names as Plato (427-347) and Aristotle (386- 
322), Demosthenes (384-322) and Praxiteles (born about 392), indicate. 



SPARTA AND ATHENo (I HE GREEKS,; ,^ 

number of more immediate causes. At first Athens 
was decidedly successful, but, owing to her grasping 
selfishness, she was at length completely humiliated, 
and Sparta once more obtained the hegemony. 

But at the height of Spartan power, the Thebans in Risisan- 
379 B.C. shook off the oligarchy established in their city poNvcr, 
by Sparta, and eight years later overcame the Spartans 
themselves and ravaged their country. While the The- 
bans, after the death of the leader Epaminondas 
(362 B.C.), could not maintain their leadership, Sparta 
was never able to regain her prestige. 
(^ It now became obvious that no single city could hope Macedonian 

, _, , . •■Ill • conquest. 

to rule Greece, and for a time all the states were quies- 
cent. During this brief season Athens was perhaps the 
most considerable of the Hellenic states ; she was com- 
mercial and wealthy, and peace suited her. But a for- 
eign foe soon threatened Athens and the rest of Greece 
in the person of Philip, king of Macedon. By military 
achievements and intrigue this warrior gradually made 
his way into Greece, until in 338 B.C. he overwhelmed 
the combined armies of Athens and Thebes at Chae- 
ronea. The next year he had himself elected com- 
mander-in-chief of all the Greek forces for an expedi- 
tion against Persia, but he was shortly assassinated, and 
the conquest of the Orient (334-323 B.C.) was left for 
his brilliant son, Alexander, to achieve. 

Greece remained a dependency of her northern neigh- 



Hit!' ■PS .Mi 

pre'iist 

soc'iity, 



AHISl</i'L U,;< r,.JUCATiON 

bor until the great world power of Rome arose. In 
three wars (215-167 B.C.) Macedon herself was then 
slowly overcome by the Romans. While at first this 
looked like an emancipation for Hellas, her territory, 
too, was eventually invaded by Rome, and in 146 B.C. 
she became a Roman province under the name of 
Achaia. But while the political independence of 
Greece had passed, her intellectual conquest of the 
world had, as will be seen, but just begun. 

Education in Prehistoric Greece. — But before discuss- 
preiiistonc i^g the world dominance of Greece, we must view the 
development of her system of education while she was 
unconsciously preparing to become schoolmistress of the 
world. To begin with, a general picture of prehistoric 
society and education may be obtained from Homer. 
In these days social conditions seem to have been very 
simple, and but little beyond those of the primitive stage. 
The people had already settled in rudely fortified towns, 
but their organization was tribal, and their king was but 
a sort of chief who held his office not so much through 
heredity as by virtue of his physical and mental quali- 
fications. He did not scorn td perform pastoral, agri- 
cultural, or industrial duties, if necessary, and he mingled 
freely with his people. In the council every free-born 
head of a family was allowed full liberty of expression 
and a vote. 

Thus, whatever training was given the youth of this 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 147 

primitive period must have been intended to fit them for Practical 

practical life. This ideal is obvious throughout Homer, prehistoric 

and is, perhaps, most succinctly stated in the well-known ^ "<=^''°°' ' 
speech of Phoenix to Achilles : — 

" Peleus, the aged knight, from Phthia sent 
', Thee, yet a boy, to Agamemnon's aid. 

Unskilled as then thou wert in cruel war 

And martial councils, where men also gain 

A great renown, — he sent me with thee, charged 

To teach thee both, that so thou mightest become 

In words an orator, in warlike deeds 

An actor." 1 

The ordinary aim of education, then, was twofold, — 
to make the pupil wise and eloquent in council, strong 
and courageous in battle. It could not have included 
any literary, scientific, or artistic elements. 

In fact, there were as yet no real schools, either ele- Training 
mentary or higher, and, with the exception of Achilles, through 
no one is mentioned as having a specific teacher. The ^*^^"^^ ^'^®' 
training was obtained through actual life in the family 
or community. The young people learned how to sat- 
isfy the wants of nature, — food, clothing, and shelter, — 
from their parents, and acquired their other activities by 
following the example of the adults whom they met. 
Where some living man would not serve the purpose, 
the example of an ideal person such as Odysseus, the 

1 Iliad, IX, 438 ff., Bryant's translation. 



148 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Imitative, 
but some- 
what ra- 
tionalized 
method. 



Evidence of 
the germ 
of individu- 
alism. 



embodiment of wisdom and craft, or Achilles, the model 
of bravery and action, was presented. 

It should be noted that while the method of teaching 
was that of imitation, it was imitation of a living or a per- 
sonal example rather than of some precept embalmed in 
sacred books as in the Orient. It was more rationalized, 
and gave some opportunity for the selective element of 
personality to enter in. It is this imitation of an example 
not fixed and stereotyped, but with possibilities of growth, 
that is evidence of the leaven which eventually enabled 
Greece to rise above all previous peoples in civilization. 

Even at this early period there can thus be seen the 
germ of the ideal to free the individual from complete 
subserviency to the social whole. Moreover, through- 
out the times depicted by Homer, while the welfare of 
the group is obviously the prime object of each member 
of society, every one has a voice in deciding what action 
is most to the common interest. Tradition and custom 
still hold sway, but they already have to be of a reason- 
able type to be accepted, and are constantly subject to 
the modification of individuals. 

Older Education of the Historic Period. — When Greek 
history actually becomes authoritative, the tribal organ- 
ization of the prehistoric period seems to have given 
way completely to that of the city-state, into which 
the tribes had been amalgamated. So the social bond 
is no longer even nominally the tie of blood, but owner- 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 149 

ship of land in the same community ; and the central 
virtue and aim in life have more explicitly become serv- 
ice to the state. While even at the first the duties of 
the individual were not definitely laid down, and he 
was allowed some personal development, every one 
was expected to expend almost his entire energy, 
and surrender his life, if necessary, in promoting the 
welfare of the state. This ideal is apparent in the two 
leading systems of education, — the Spartan and the 
Athenian. 

Spartan Education and Its Aim. — Sparta, which pos- 
sessed the earliest education of which we have extended 
information, is the most complete illustration of this 
type. Its social and political conditions, as has already 
been pointed out,^ made it necessary to produce a race 
of hardy warriors and patriotic citizens ; and„-Strength, 
courage, and obedience to the laws were held as the 
airJis of education. The Spartan educational system 
was intended to serve the state, and it was supported 
and controlled by the state. It is the one recorded inX 
stance of a complete system of moral and social educa- \ 
tion in a socialistic state. / 

Infancy. — State control began with birth. The in- Exposure of 
fant was immediately inspected by a council of elders, defomied 
who decided whether he was strong enough to be ^"^^"'f-^"*^ 

Ob ^ strict tram- 

allowed to Jjjifi. If he were sickly or deformed, he was '"s of the 

strong. 
^ See pp. 141-142. 



150 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

exposed to die in some wild glen of Mount Taygetus,^ 
unless adopted by the perioeci or the helots. If he 
appeared promising enough, he was formally adopted by 
the state and left with his mother for rearing until he 
was seven years of age. He could not be swaddled, lest') 
his limbs should be checked in growth ; and he had to " 
be left alone in the dark and not permitted to scream, 
that he might from the first become hardy and learn ^ 
self-control. 
The boys Boyhood and Adolescence. — At seven the Spartan boy 

lived in 

common, was put m charge of a state officer called XhQ pcBaonomus 
('boy trainer'). With the aid of certain assistants, this 
official supervised the life and education of all the Spar- 
tan youth. The boys ate and slept in common in public 
buildings not unlike present-day barracks. Here they 
were divided into squads and companies, which were in 
charge of the older and stronger boys, and were classi- 
fied according to their ages into three groups. Accord- 
ing to Plutarch, " Of the boys he who showed the best 
conduct and most courage was made captain of the 
company. The others kept their eyes always upon him, 
obeyed his orders, and underwent patiently whatever ; 
punishments he inflicted ; so that their whole education ) 
was an exercise of obedience." ^ 

The life of the boys during this training was one of 

1 In earlier days he was cast down a precipice of the mountain. 
^ Lycurgus, XVI. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 151 

continual hardening and discipline. They slept without and had a 
covering, at first upon pallets of straw, and after fifteen regimen 
upon rushes, which they plucked from the banks of the 
Eurotas, as they were not allowed the use of a knife. 
They went without shoes winter and summer ; and 
after they became twelve years of age their entire dress 
consisted of a single garment. They were given little 
food, that they might learn to endure hunger ; but to 
school them in craft for purposes of war, they were per- 
mitted to forage for additional food. If, however, they 
were detected in the act by any one, they were con- 
sidered in disgrace and at once handed over to the 
assistants of the psedonomus for a severe whipping, 

( The more direct training consisted of a graded course and severe 
in gymnastics. The exercises began with running, training, 
jumping, and ball playing ; but as the boys grew older, 
they were trained also in throwing the discus, casting 
the javelin, wrestling, and boxing. They were occasion- 
ally allowed to engage in the pancratium (* a complete 
combat '), a contest in which any means of overcoming 
one's antagonist, even by kicking, biting, scratching, or 
gouging, was permitted. These events were carried on 
in the open air and in the presence of any who wished 
to attend, so that they were subject to the criticism, 
favorable or otherwise, of the entire city. Thus a con- 
testant would suffer anything, at times even death, 
rather than fail to exert himself to the utmost. The 



152 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

intention, of course, was not to make athletes or promote 
beauty or dexterity, but simply to toughen the boys and 
cultivate qualities of value in warfare. Dancing supple- 
mented the gymnastic training. This, too, did not aim 
at developing grace and skill, but a patriotic and reli- 
gious spirit, for it consisted mostly of war dances, some- 
times in full armor and following out miHtary evolutions, 
and sacred dances in honor of the gods. The boys 
often gave exhibitions of dancing and gymnastics at 
various religious festivals, especially those in honor of 
Apollo. 
Intellectual The Spartan boys, however, received little that could 
education at be strictly accountcd an intellectual or moral education. 



a minimum. 



While teachers of reading and writing may have existed, 
these accomplishments did not ordinarily form part of 
the training. The laws of Lycurgus and selections from 
Homer, which had been set to music, and other songs 
that they chanted in the simple and dignified Doric 
measure, were seldom written down, but were committed 
to memory. This music must, like the dancing, have 
afforded some religious and patriotic inspiration. 
Conversation The young Spartans obtained further ethical and in- 
at thelabie,"^ tellcctual training by listening to the conversation of the 
older men at the meals or in the street, and by being at 
all times subject to approval or disapproval for their 
conduct. In this way they learned respect for their 
elders, honesty, and self-control. The boys were them- 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 153 

selves also often required by the youth in charge of the 
common table to sing a song or give a concise and sen- 
sible answer ^ to such a general inquiry as " Who is the 
best man in the city ? " or " What do you think of this 
action ? " or some similar question put to test their 
powers. The boy whose answer proved unfitting or too 
wordy had his thumb bitten by the youth in charge ; 
and this official in turn was sometimes judged after the 
meal by the older men present, and punished if his 
decisions were not considered wise.^ 

A more specific means of moral training was the andcom- 
selection of some particular boy as a comrade by every ^jth eiders. 
male adult. This, Plutarch tells us, was a perfectly 
honorable attachment, and where two or three chose 
the same lad, instead of provoking jealousy, it only 
drew them nearer together through mutual interest and 
friendly rivalry in strengthening the boy's character.^ 

Youth and Young Manhood. — When a youth reached Training in 
eighteen, he began his distinctive study of warfare. For ^^^^' 

the first two years he was known as a mel/eiren (* bud- 
ding youth ' ), and was trained in the use of arms and 
skirmishing. He was given a rigorous examination 

^ Several instances of such brief, incisive answers are given in Plutarch's 
Lycurgus. They are characterized even to-day by the term ' laconic' 
See especially Lycurgus, XIX-XX. 

2 See Plutarch's Lycurgus, XVIII. 

8 The adult was usually held responsible for his protege's conduct, 
and might even be fined if the boy misbehaved. See Lycurgus, XVIII, 



154 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Women were 
trained 
similarly to 



every ten days, and had his courage and physique 
tested by being whipped before the altar of Artemis 
Orthia. Plutarch tells us that these scourgings were 
so severe that death not infrequently resulted. ^ At 
twenty the young Spartan became an eiren (' youth ' ), 
and his training was practically that of real military 
life. He regularly entered the army and took the oath 
of loyalty to Sparta. For ten years he lived upon the 
coarsest of fare, practiced hunting and swimming, and 
was set to guard some border fortress. 

Citizenship. — When the Spartan reached thirty, he 
was considered to have entered manhood. He then 
became a member of the public assembly and was 
required to marry at once. But even then he had no 
home, and could visit his wife only clandestinely. Until 
late in Spartan history, he was still obliged to eat at the 
common tables with the boys,^ and to spend much of 
his time in observing their education. Not only was 
every citizen expected to correct any boy or youth 
he found acting improperly, but it was considered dis- 
graceful if he did not establish a specific relationship 
with some particular youth. He also continued in mili- 
tary service. 

Education of Women. — The education of Spartan 
women was very similar to that of the men. While 

1 See Plutarch's Lycurgus, XVIII. 

2 For further details, see Plutarch's Lycurgus, XXIV. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 155 
the girls were allowed to live at home, they were the men, and 

, . . . . , • , . , had much 

trained in running, jumping, hopping, throwing the influence, 
discus, hurhng the javelin, and even wrestling, in a 
regular course. Dancing and singing were also taught 
the girls, and on certain public occasions they joined 
with the youths in choral dances and hymns in honor 
of the gods. The aim was, of course, to enable them 
to become the mothers of sturdy sons, and to hand 
down a religious and patriotic spirit to them. 

Merits and Defects of Spartan Education. — Thus, Subordina- 

1-111 TT Til 111 tion to the 

while the laws of Lycurgus, unlike the sacred books state, 
of the Oriental nations, consisted of broad principles 
rather than specific precepts, and so admitted of the 
development of some individuality in working out de- 
tails, they were shaped entirely with reference to the 
welfare of the state. "The Spartans," said the exile 
to Xerxes, "are the best of all men when fighting in 
a body ; for, though free, yet they are not free in all 
things, since over them is set law as a master, which 
they fear much more than your subjects do you."^ 
Their educational system served well its purpose of 
creating strong warriors and devoted citizens, but it 
failed to make for the highest manhood. The Spartans and failure 

r • n 1 11 1 r /-^ • ^° make for 

for centuries excelled all the rest of Greece m courage, the highest 
endurance, and self-control ; their women were virtuous, ^^^ °° ' 
active, and high-spirited ; and the youth showed a 

1 Herodotus, VII, 104. 



156 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Heroism under pain and privation, and an obedience 
to their elders, that became a model for many philoso- 
phers and moralists. Yet they failed to recognize that 
harmony and balance which was the underlying ideal 
of the Athenian education, and they lacked entirely 
in all the finer traits of human nature. They developed 
practically no art, literature, or philosophy. 

Their education did result in great military achieve- 
ments and in keeping the country stable, while it re- 
mained in force. But the entire system was based on 
a state morality rather than on individual responsibility, 
and as soon as the Spartan was removed from his own 
country and was no longer subject to this outside sanc- 
tion of the law, his ethical life was completely disrupted. 
After the Peloponnesian War, when the hegemony of 
Greece passed from Athens to Sparta, the latter showed 
herself quite unequal to the task of leading, since she 
lacked both in moral strength and adaptability to the 
new situation. Moreover, stability is purchased too 
dearly when accomplished at the expense of progress. 
Even during the period of her supremacy, Sparta pro- 
duced little that tended to promote civilization. She 
has left to the world nothing but examples of heroism 
and foolhardiness alike, as illustrated in the case of 
i Lepnidas and his three hundred warriors, who, even 
when betrayed and deserted by their allies, calmly met 
death rather than break the cast-iron laws of their 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 1 57 

country by a wise retreat. Sparta may occasionally 
have proven an inspiration, but never an enlightenment. 
Had the Greeks paused with her development, they 
would have made no great contribution to civilization 
beyond that of the Orient. Our chief interest in Spar- 
tan education is, therefore, because of the way in which 
it leads up to the culture of Athens. 

Athenian Education in the Old Period. — For many oid Athenian 

... . ,., p f-. education 

centuries Athenian education, like that of Sparta, considered 
aimed primarily at promoting the welfare of the state o/prjme ^^^ 
without much consideration of individual interests. But importance, 
the view-point of Athens, even at first, differed consider- 
ably in its angle, and its range was much broader. Her but felt that 

, . personal de- 

citizens were to be trained for peace much more than veiopment 
for war, and education in the spirit of Athenian institu- ^^y^o^this 
tions, as well as a course in physical training, was given 
(^her boys. Her constant effort was to make well- 
balanced men. Every one had his place in the service 
of the state, but it was felt that he could fill it best by 
securing the most complete development personally. 
For that reason, while the Athenian curriculum re- 
sembled that of Sparta, there was a marked difference 
in purpose and in the relative importance attached to 
the various subjects; and even the earlier education at 
Athens demands a separate treatment. 

Childhood. — The more liberal spirit of Athens is Life and 
made apparent in the fact that the state did not as 



158 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the child was Completely control the life and education of the young 
the father ^s In Sparta. The method of their rearing was not as rig- 
theTtate^'^ orous, or SO definitely prescribed. While the newly born 
were often exposed, this was because the father, rather 
than the state, felt that the child would not be a credit to 
him, or that his family was already large enough. iThe 
{mother, and not the state,, had nominal charge of the 
boy, as well as the girl, until he was seven, although the 
real care devolved upon the slave nurse. By listening to 
nursery-rhymes, folk-lore, and stories about gods or heroes 
from Homer and Hesiod, and memorizing them, there was 
early cultivated within him the germ of that imagination 
and poetic feeling for which Athens became famous. 
Boys went Boyhood. — At seven the boy was sent to school in 

the care of ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^ slave known as the pcedagogiis (* boy 
leader '), who carried his lyre and other school appur- 
tenances. This functionary was ordinarily one who 
was unfitted for other duties by age or other physical 
disability, but he had complete oversight of the boy's 
morals. The youngster was expected to obey him, and 
he could enforce his discipline with whipping, if neces- 
sary; but it may well be imagined that his youthful 
charge had but little respect for him. It would seem 
from this intrusting of the child to the moral care of 
slaves, such as the nurse and pedagogue, that Athens, 
while broader than Sparta in its training, was less strict 
about habit formation in early life. 



a slave. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 159 

The training in these schools to which the Athenian Schools w. 

TDriv^tc 

boys first went, was not, as in Sparta, provided by the 
state or altogether under state control. But any father 
who failed to provide his boy with an education could 
not, by the laws of Solon, in his old age claim support 
from his son. Education was mandatory, but individual 
responsibility was encouraged. So the schools were 
generally private ventures, and were held in houses 
or rooms provided by the teachers, or possibly, in some 
instances, rented to them by the state. All schools 
were, however, subject to state supervision, probably 
through the Council of the Areopagus. The exact 
course that the boy should take and the length of time 
he should remain in school were matters also to be de- 
termined by his father, although the state required in 
general that every one should be taught gymnastics 
and 'music' 

, These subjects he learned in two different elementary andofte/o 
schools, — the pali^stra ('wrestling ground'), for physi- 
cal training, and the didascaleu^n ('teaching place'), or 
* music '-school. The palaestra seems to have been 
simply an open space covered with sand, having a race- 
course on it, and may sometimes have been connected 
with the didascaleum, after the fashion of the modern 
schoolyard or playing fields. While school hours 
lasted the entire day, from early in the morning until 
almost sunset, as so much of the course consisted in 



.scjQg; 



1 60 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

physical exercise and * activity ' studies, and holidays in 
honor of the gods were frequent, the work was prob- 
ably not as strenuous as in Sparta. 
.'•) he The instruction in the palasstra was given through 

pal?' ;tra, for 

nhv. cai \.\iQ pcedotribes {^ hoy kneader'), who had assistants to 
anoint the pupils with oil and scrape them after the 
exercise was over. As in Sparta, the course was graded, 
and besides simple calisthenics and ball-playing, the 
pentaihlum (' fivefold contest '),^ which included run- 
ning, leaping, throwing the discus, casting the javelin, 
and wrestling, formed the staples of the curriculum. 
Boxing was not allowed until the boys were older, lest 
they might be permanently disfigured. 

The purpose of this physical training in Athens dif- 
fered from that in Sparta. As might be expected, it 
did not aim to serve the state by creating a race of 
soldiers, but to cultivate ease and grace of bearing, 
adroitness, and strength, and so to heighten the morals 
and intelligence of the future citizens. Running and 
jumping were intended to develop the lower limbs, 
endurance being especially cultivated by long runs, and 
concentration of energy by sprints and all varieties of 
jumping ; the discus and the javelin afforded special 
training for the eye-and-arm adjustment, and the former 
especially aided that poise and symmetry which com- 

^ It is questionable whether these games were organized enough to be 
known by this term before the time of the * new ' education. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) l6l 

posed the Athenian ideal of beauty ; ^ while all these 
objects were furthered by wrestling, and the moral 
quality of self-control strengthened in addition. 

Naturally, intellectual, aesthetic, and moral education and (2) the 
was more specific in Athens than Sparta. The effort for inteiiec- ' 
to furnish this was first made through the didascaleitm, *"^ teaming, 
where the study was of * music,' which was said to be 
for the culture of the soul just as gymnastics was for 
the body. ' Music,' however, had a broader scope than 
is now intended. It included all that came under the 
patronage of the nine muses, — literary subjects, as 
well as musical in the narrower sense. At length, when 
various lyric, elegiac, and other poems, as well as the 
epic, had come to be recited to musical accompaniment, 
the memory became overtaxed, and it was necessary for 
the musicians who used them to commit them to writing. 
Consequently, no distinction was made between musical 
and literary training, and both were furnished by the 
same teacher, the citharistes (' lyre-player '), or * music'- 
master.2 

' As elements of the literary training, reading and writ- At the didas- 
ing were studied. After the boy had learned his letters taught read- 
by tracing them in sand, he was taught to copy verses ^"^^ ntera"-^' 
and selections from well-known authors, at first upon ture, 

^ This canon of the human figure is embodied in the familiar discobalus 
of Myron, which is still preserved in the Vatican museum. 

2 Later, the term grammatisies (' teacher of letters ') was used to desig- 
nate the instructor in literature and rhetoric. 

M 



l62 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

wax-tablets with a stylus, and later upon parchment 
with pen and ink. " In the works of the great poets," 
says Plato, " are contained many admonitions, and 
many tales, and praises, and encomia of ancient famous 
men, which he is required to learn by heart, in order 
that he may imitate or emulate them and desire to 
become like them," ^ The writing lesson of one day 
served for the reading of the next ; so that if the copy 
appeared illegible, the boy had his own carelessness to 
blame. As punctuation and accents had not yet been 
invented, and a passage was written without spacing 
between the words, the younger boys seem to have 
been obliged to have the teacher separate the words and 
clauses before they began to read. And the older boys 
must have found it something of an intellectual test to 
divide the writing mentally, and read with the distinct- 
ness and expression that was required of them, 
and music. Instruction in music proper, until the fifth century, 

consisted in learning to chant religious or patriotic 
poems, and gradually to accompany one's self on the 
seven-stringed lyre. Only the strong, simple, Doric 
airs were used, and anything like professional skill was 
tabooed as being unworthy of a liberal training. These 
lyrics were taught the boys, " in order that they might 
learn to be more gentle, harmonious, and rhythmical, 
and so more fitted for speech and action ; for the 

1 Plato, Protagoras, 325 D. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 163 

life of .man in every part has need of harmony and 
rhythm."^ It was necessary for the pupils to under- 
stand the rhythm and melody, that they might bring 
out the meaning of the poem, and the older boys were 
often required to improvise an accompaniment that 
should express the theme. Thus music constituted an 
intellectual and ethical, as well as an aesthetic, training. 

There was one other subject in the elementary Dancing 
curriculum at Athens, — dancing. This is difficult to of contact 
classify. It might well be considered under either p^Z^cai and 
gymnastics or music ; and, as a fact, while the instruc- intellectual 

°-' ' education. 

tion probably took place in the palaestra, it was con- 
ducted by the citharist. One object seems to have 
been, as in music, to express the meaning of some 
poem and arouse a patriotic and religious spirit. The 
dancing consisted in a rhythmical swaying of the entire 
body, expressing by a sort of pantomimic ballet the 
sentiment which was at the same time sung in words 
and accompanied on the lyre by a musician. Thus 
dancing was intended to train the whole being, — body 
(^and soul. It seems to have been a point of contact be- 
tween two seemingly diverse branches of education, and 
made apparent their essential relation and harmony. 

This programme of elementary education in Athens Value of the 
was much richer in possibilities than would appear from greater than 
the fewness of subjects. Until the fourth century it "^^^™^- 

^ Plato, Protagoras, 326 A. 



1 64 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Methods of 
teaching 
were not 
much de- 
veloped. 



contained practically no arithmetic or other mathematics, 
but left these to be acquired in practical life; drawing 
also was not added until later; and none of the other 
elements that now seem necessary appeared there as 
separate subjects. But the material read and memo- 
rized, sung and danced to, was filled with valuable ex- 
perience and moral teaching, and the explanations and 
interpretations given by the teachers had to bring in all 
the learning of the times. Expositions of Homer and 
Hesiod, Tyrtseus, Alcman, and Sappho, Theognis and 
Solon, in bringing out the inspiration of a noble litera- 
ture, would require a considerable range of information 
concerning religion, ethics, politics, and social life, and 
could easily be correlated with any study in our curricu- 
lum to-day. The moral, aesthetic, and general cultural 
value of these studies must have been far greater than 
would be suggested to the modern educator from the 
meagerness of the course. 

On the whole, however, teaching had received as yet 
but little development in Athens. The pupil learned to 
write by imitating the copy of his teacher. Reading 
was taught by the alphabetic, rather than the phonetic, 
method ; and the boys repeated the letters and poems- 
after the teacher, and sang or read them in concert. 
This memory work was carried on with little idea of 
the meaning, although it was afterward explained to 
the pupils. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 165 

iNor were there any qualifications for becoming a 
schoolmaster, and teachers were, in consequence, not 
much esteemed.^ In discipline, too, the appeal was 
made to extraneous motives, either fear of punishment 
or hope of reward. Rivalry, which played so important 
a part in all phases of Greek life, must have been largely 
depended upon in Athenian schools. 

Adolescence. — At fifteen the Athenian boy, if he Secondary 

-* education 

belonged to the wealthier and more cultured class, en- in the 
tered what might be considered his secondary education, gymnasia. 
Most of this was carried on at one of the exercising 
grounds in the thick groves just outside Athens. These 
were called gymnasia,^ and the teachers came to be 
known 2.^ gymnastcs. Unhke the palaestra and the di- 
dascaleum, these institutions were maintained at state 
expense. The course consisted largely of physical 
training of a more advanced character ; the features of 

^This may, however, have been due in part to the fact that the ele- 
mentary teachers, both psdotribes and citharists, charged a fee, as the 
Athenians could not conceive of a proper relation between teacher and 
pupil that did not exist purely from mutual regard. Compare the 
Athenian estimate of the sophists, p. 174. 

"^ Two of these had been established early in the sixth century by 
Solon : the ' Academy ' on the northwest in the valley of the Cephissus, 
intended for Athenians of pure blood, and under the protection of Athene; 
and the ' Cynosarges,' on the east at the foot of Mount Lycabettus, for 
those of mixed blood, which had Heracles as a patron. Plato afterward 
taught at the Academy, while the Lyceum, which was not founded until 
the time of Pericles, and was near the river Ilissus, became the seat of 
Aristotle's lectures. 



i66 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



The youth 
was now 
given much 
liberty, al- 
though re- 
sponsible to 
his father 
and the 
Areopagus. 



the palaestra were continued, but made more severe, 
and certain more vigorous exercises were added. The 
running was now done in armor, and wrestling became 
rougher and more complicated. It was also supple- 
mented by boxing, and the pancratium was sometimes 
allowed. Swimming and hunting were engaged in out- 
side the gymnasia, although the latter could not possess 
the same allurements that it did in the more sparsely 
settled and hilly country about Sparta. 

At this stage the boy passed from the surveillance of 
the pedagogue, but was still under the care of his father 
or guardian, who continued to be responsible for his 
conduct. The adolescent was also subject to the Coun- 
cil of the Areopagus, which could punish him severely 
for any breach of morals, and each gymnasium was under 
the strict supervision of a state official known as the so- 
phronistes {' regulator '), or censor of morals. Such care 
was necessary, as this was a critical period in the boy's 
life. He had been given a sudden access of liberty, 
which he might at first be tempted to abuse. He was 
now allowed to go wherever he wished, — into the agorcL, 
the courts, or the theater, as well as the gymnasium ; 
and became acquainted with public life through first- 
hand contact. So, too, while he was given no direct 
instruction of an intellectual character, not even in po- 
litical science, yet at this most impressionable period he 
learned, through informal intercourse with his elders, 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 167 

to discuss and converse, and acquired a knowledge of 
ethics and of civic and social affairs that fitted him well 
for the duties of citizenship. 

Youth. — (At (eighteen the young man finished his 
secondary education and was presented by his father as 
a candidate for citizenship. If it could be shown that 
he was legitimate and born of Athenians of pure blood, 
and was up to the physical, intellectual, and moral stand- 
ards, his name was entered upon the register of citizens, 
and he was publicly introduced by the king-archon. 
He was then armed with spear and shield by his father, 
or, if his parent had perished in battle, by the state, and 
was permitted at the shrine of Aglaurus to take the oath 
of loyalty to the gods, state, and traditions of Athens.^ 

(The youth now came directly under the laws of the Ephebic, 
state, but he was considered a novice, and did not share training, 
in civic affairs. During this period he was known as an 
ephebus ('youth ') or cadet, and for two years continued 
his education with a course in militia duties. The first 

1 The oath ran as follows : " I will never disgrace these sacred arms,(' 
nor desert my companion in the ranks. I will fight for temples and public; 
property, both alone and with many. I will transmit my fatherland, not 
only not less, but greater and better, than it was transmitted to me. I will 
obey the magistrates who may at any time be in power. I will observe 
both the existing laws and those which the people may unanimously here- 
after make; and, if any person seek to annul the laws or set them at 
naught, I will do my best to prevent him, and will defend them both alone 
and with many. I will honor the religion of my fathers. And I call to 
witness Aglaurus, Enyalius, Ares, Zeus, Thallo, Auxo, and Hegemone." 



i68 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Even after 
citizenship, 
education 
continued 
through en- 
vironment. 



Women were 
trained only 



year the ephebus spent in the neighborhood of Athens. 
Here he led the usual life of a soldier ; he slept in the 
open air, drilled, and garrisoned the city, and might at 
any time be called upon for active service. At the end 
of a year he took a public examination in the use of 
arms and was then transferred to some fortress on the 
frontier, where he acted as a sort of rural police and ac- 
quainted himself with the topography of Attica. After 
another year he took the examination for citizenship 
called dokimasia, and when he passed, became a full- 
fledged citizen. 

Citizenship. — But even with the attainment of citizen- 
ship, the education of the Athenian did not cease. 
Throughout the rest of his life he was constantly sur- 
rounded by the means for a liberal training. The 
drama, architecture, sculpture, and art of ancient 
Athens everywhere furnished him with noble ideals 
toward which to struggle; and the civic problems, re- 
ligious festivals, and literary contests all stimulated him 
to intellectual and aesthetic efforts of the highest sort. 
While the Athenians were not, like the Spartans, bound 
by state regulation to eat in common or assist in the 
education of the youth, they endeavored always to ad- 
vance the state by the quahty of their manhood and 
citizenship. 

Education of Women. — The education of women was 
purposely neglected by the Athenians. They felt, as 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 169 

did the Spartans, that education existed only for prac- in house- 

, ,,, , , • 1 1 111 hold affairs. 

tical activities ; but unhke their great rivals, they held 
{thsit men alone should take part in public life, and 
C^so only their sex required specific training. Woman, 
whose duties of wife and mother lay entirely within 
doors, needed no knowledge beyond ordinary skill in 
household affairs ; and those who possessed any in- 
tellectual attainments were necessarily regarded as 
\ wanting; in moral sense and conduct. 

Character of the Old Athenian Education. — Hence, in More oppor- 
the rights of women and in habit formation among chil- individual 
dren, Athens was excelled by Sparta; but upon the t^an^f'"^'^ 
whole, the Athenian education was far superior to the Sparta, 
Spartan in allowing more opportunity for individual 
development. Except in general principles, the laws did 
not interfere with the parents in the details of educat- 
ing their children, and private life was not altogether 
crushed out. The course admitted of a more rounded 
education than that of Sparta, and was rich in intellec- 
tual, aesthetic, and moral content. During youth and 
manhood especially, the Athenian was given great lati- 
tude in the development of his character, and had every 
opportunity to secure a liberal training. Consequently, 
while Athens for many years retained a kind of state 
morality and was somewhat dependent upon tradition, 
elements of individualism and some development of 
personality were manifest in her education even at an 



170 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



but so great 
a similarity 
that both 
systems were 
included 
under ' old ' 
Greek edu- 
cation. 



Factors in 
the change 
to the new 
ideals. 



early day. Where Sparta educated preeminently for 
military service and citizenship, Athens endeavored to 
train for manhood, that the more efficient citizen might 
thereby result. 

Nevertheless, until about the middle of the fifth 
century B.C., despite wide divergences in ideals and 
details of accomplishment, Athenian education re- 
sembled the Spartan in its purpose, organization, and 
content. For that reason, the early history of Athens 
is usually grouped with that of Sparta throughout as 
representative of what Aristophanes called the ' old ' 
education, where personality was given less recognition, 
and the individual was subordinated to the good of the 
whole. This characterization is, of course, in contrast 
to Greek education in the 'new' period, which is repre- 
sented by Athens alone. 

Athenian Education in the New Period. — This new 
type of education may in some measure be considered 
a natural evolution from the old. The gradual rise of 
broad democratic ideals and the opportunities arising 
from the supremacy of Athens, culminating in the 
enlightened Periclean age, which have already been 
sketched,^ seem to be a legitimate outcome of the old 
concept of developing the individual for the sake of the 
state, and a move toward strengthening the demand for 
an education that should more adequately recognize the 

1 See pp. 143-144. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 1 71 

interests of the individual. To this extent, the old 
theory of education appears to have committed pro- 
gressive suicide. But as the result of the Persian wars, 
a decidedly revolutionary tendency was also at work in 
Athenian society and was probably more effective in 
producing the transition in ideals and practice. 

The extended conflict with a powerful people from 
the Orient, possessing a well-organized but widely dif- 
ferent body of traditions, the political and commercial 
intercourse with a variety of other states and nations, 
which ensued from the formation of the Athenian 
Empire and the social contact with foreigners from 
every land that were thronging the streets of Athens, 
resulted in an interchange of customs and ideas that 
greatly broadened the views of the Athenians, stimu- 
lated their intellectual activity, and led to a reconstruc- 
tion of their practices and beliefs. A growing familiar- 
ity with new traditions and activities brought about a 
toleration of them and a comparison with the old, with 
the inevitable rejection of any portion of either that 
could not stand the test. 

/ Certain conditions seem especially symptomatic of Changes in 
this break-up of old traditions, and are characteristic of philosophy, 
the increased emphasis upon the individual. In theol- es'^e|!|a[r"'^^ 
\ ogy, the stories about the old gods and their rather resulted. 
arbitrary control of the world were replaced by more 
scientific attempts at an explanation of nature. Philos- 



J72 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Confusion in 
society was 
evident. 



Individual- 
ism was re- 
flected in 
education. 



( ophy also shifted the emphasis of its search after ulti- 
mate reality from nature to man. The content of 
literature showed the change in a similar way. It 
came gradually to concern itself with more human in- 
terests, such as are contained in the dramas of Euripides, 
rather than with such stern old notions of duty and fate 
as appear in the Prometheus of ^^schylus or the CEdipus 
Tyranniis of Sophocles. 

As a natural concomitant of this rapid transition, 
society seems for a time to have been completely dis- 

'.rvipted. The old was shattered, and while new ideals 
were being constructed, a groping ensued. While the 
latitude given the individual was destined, as always, 
to produce progress in the long run, and was of great 
ultimate service to the world, more immediately a low 
ebb in morals at Athens resulted. If we can rely at 
all upon Aristophanes, even after his witty exagger- 
ations have been properly discounted, it would seem 
that children became impudent, cunning, and impure; 
wives turned shrewish, extravagant, and unfaithful ; 
husbands neglected their duties as householders and 
citizens in a search for disreputable and dishonest 
gain ; slaves became disobedient, lazy, and disloyal ; 
skepticism and license were rampant, and confusion 
was general. It was individualism run riot. 

Education especially reflected the conditions of the 
period. Its ideals became more and more individual- 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 173 

istic. The times demanded a training that would pro- 
mote the happiness of the individual with little or 
no consideration for the welfare of the state as a 
whole. The old education seemed narrow and barren 
of content; and there arose a desire for all sorts of 
knowledge that might contribute to one's advance- 
ment, whether it increased his usefulness or not. Skill 
in debate and public speaking was especially sought, 
because of the unusual opportunity for personal 
(achievement in politics. 

The Sophists. — To meet these demands, a new set The sophists, 
of teachers, who called themselves sophistce ('wise fesg^dtopre- 
men'), came into prominence. They were generally pare young 
colonial Greeks^ who had acquired much knowledge career, were 

in disrepute. 

and experience through wide travel. Hence they 
were able to view the traditional Athenian education 
from the outside and detect its inability to adapt itself 
to the new situation. They especially professed to be 
competent to prepare young men for a career of glory 
and profit, and some of them even claimed to teach 
(^any subject whatsoever, or how to defend either side 
of an argument successfully. This, together with the 
want of modesty implied in the name they had assumed, 
was quite opposed to the Athenian notion of integrity 

^The new tendencies arose in the colonies, where the first conflict 
of traditions naturally took place. From these points of unsettled con- 
ditions the sophists emigrated to Athens. 



174 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Character 
of their 
teaching. 



and proper balance of mind ; and they further offended 
the national sense of propriety by charging a fee for 
their services.^ 

In consequence, the orthodox citizens of Athens 
were very suspicious of these 'foreign' tutors, but it 
must not be concluded that the sophists as a class 
were wanting in character. While there were undoubt- 
edly charlatans among them, as is likely to be the 
case with any new movement, their number, neverthe- 
less, also included many worthy men, such as Protag- 
oras of Abdera, so much admired by Socrates, and 
Gorgias of Leontini, who rendered such distinguished 
service to oratory. Most of these teachers afforded 
their pupils as thorough a course in natural science 
and political and economic problems as was possible 
at the time, and trained them honestly and carefully 
in rhetorical presentation. Sometimes, to be sure, 
especially in later days, the sophistic discipline con- 
sisted in acquiring superficial information and bon mots, 
and memorizing set speeches upon a variety of topics ; 
and, with even the best of the sophists, mere form, 
pretentious argumentation, and word quibbles 2 played an 
important part, and instruction, rather than a training 
in moral habit, became characteristic of their education. 



^ See footnote on page 165. 

2 Prodicus of Ceos was especially famous for his distinctions between 
synonyms. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 175 

The effect of this teaching was naturally felt most its effect 

. . felt by those 

strongly by the adolescents in the gymnasium stage inthegym- 
of education. These young men were ambitious to "^pecSny, 
distinguish themselves in politics, and the physical 
training which had hitherto dominated the course in 
the gymnasium could not be of much service for states- 
manship. Consequently, this kind of development was 
abandoned for the study of grammatical and rhetorical 
subtleties ; and, as Aristophanes phrases it, the youths 
became narrow of chest and glib of tongue. When- 
ever a sophist appeared in the street, the agora, or 
the house, the young men crowded about him to 
borrow from his store of experience and wisdom, and 
acquire his method of argument. 

But the influence of the sophists also extended some- but also by 

, , , , . , . . , , the ephebes, 

what to the ephebic and younger citizens, and the new the younger 
ideals likewise reacted on the lower schools. The ex- ^j^ggg^n ^" 
ercises of the palaestra were no longer intended to t^e lower 

^ schools. 

secure the proper balance and endurance, that better 
citizens might be made, but for the sake of the glow of 
health, or for obtaining such form and grace as would 
impart aesthetic pleasure. The rigor of the training 
was greatly abated, and warm baths replaced the cold 
plunge that had formerly braced their sinews. The 
literary work in the didascaleum, besides epic poetry, 
which was now considered out of date, came to include 
the reflective and didactic poems of Simonides, The- 



176 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Extreme in- 
dividualism 
of the 
sophists. 



ognis, Archilochus, and others, who aimed at teaching 
morals in aphoristic form ; and much fruitless discus- 
sion concerning their meaning was carried on. Music 
was now taught, not so much to stimulate patriotism or 
to foster intellectual attainments for the sake of the 
state, as to enable the performer to secure pleasure or 
exhibit individual skill. Instead of the old patriotic 
and religious songs sung to the simple Doric airs and 
accompanied upon the seven-stringed lyre, there were 
introduced complicated instruments of all sorts, requir- 
ing much skill, rhythms like the Lydian and Phrygian, 
which pleased the ear and were difficult in execution, 
and other musical novelties. 

All this inroad upon the time-honored curriculum 
shows how fully the sophists embodied the individual- 
ism of the times. In all matters they represented the 
unlimited inquiry and discussion that was going on, 
and the consequent subversion of Athenian tradition 
and civilization. While the sophists criticised, they 
made no effort to stay the disintegration, and offered 
nothing to take the place of the old that was being 
destroyed. Their attitude was purely negative. Al- 
though they held no body of doctrine common to them 
all, they were generally at one in their position of 
extreme individualism. They often went so far as to 
insist that there could not safely be any universal cri- 
teria in knowledge or morals; that no satisfactory 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 177 

interpretation of life could be made for all, but that 
every fact and situation should be subject to the judg- 
ment of the individual. No doubt the formula attrib- 
uted to Protagoras, " Man {i.e. the individual) is the 
measure of all things, both of the seen and the unseen," 
would have expressed the attitude common to most of 
them. 

Thus the sophists were only carrying to its legitimate 
conclusion the complete reaction from the old ideal of 
subordination of the individual to the state ; and, while 
their doctrine of individualism was temporarily con- 
nected with much social disorder, it was prophetic of 
a higher civilization. Destruction must sometimes pre- 
pare the way for reconstruction, when social conditions 
become too hard and fast. As a body, the sophists 
were earnestly, though perhaps unconsciously, striving 
to close the period of unreflective acceptance of tradi- 
tion, and awaken within every one a sense of individual 
responsibility. While others were required to rebuild 
the social and ethical structure, theirs was the first step 
toward moral freedom. 

Reactionary Forces. — Meanwhile, the conservative System of 

, . . ... , Pythagoras. 

element in society was making its usual attempt to 
adjust the unsettled conditions by suggesting a return 
to the old. Various schemes had been advanced, even 
before the sophists had come into prominence. The 
plan most completely worked out, both in theory and 



178 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



yEschylus, 
Aristopha- 
nes, 

Xenophon, 
and others. 



practice, was that of Pythagoras (about 580-500 b.c). 
He formulated a socialistic system in opposition to the 
growing individualistic tendency as early as the latter 
half of the sixth century. Adopting an analogy from 
the ' harmony ' of the celestial bodies and from the 
relation of the powers in the individual to each other, 
he arranged a definite hierarchy in society, so that each 
member should have his proper place, and complete 
harmony and social order should ensue. Similarly, he 
planned an educational scheme for the harmonizing of 
the individual ; his reproductive power was to be subor- 
dinated to nutrition through gymnastics, nutrition to 
sensation by music, and sensation to reason by means 
of arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Under this 
system Pythagoras organized a religious brotherhood 
with certain ascetic and superstitious rules, which for a 
time proved very successful in Magna Graecia, and 
eventually became the prototype of many fixed social 
schemes. 

As the influence of the sophists began to be felt, other 
representatives of the reactionary movement also ap- 
peared. The aristocratic party naturally held to the old 
order of things, and advocated a return as the only 
remedy. Also ^Eschylus (525-456 B.C.), 'father of 
tragedy,' attempted to preserve the traditional mythol- 
ogy by interpreting it in an ethical sense, and became 
the greatest exponent of the old system of institutional 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 179 

morals in Greece. In comedy, that matchless caricatur- 
ist of Athens, Aristophanes (about 445-380 B.C.), used 
his plays as a vehicle to parody the new conditions and 
contrast them unfavorably with the old. Then, in the 
Cyropcedia, or Education of Cyrus, Xenophon (about 
430-370 B.C.) advocated a complete reversion to the ideal 
of subserviency to the state. Under the guise of de- 
scribing the training of a Persian prince, he practically 
presented the old Greek plan of education, partly as it 
was in vogue at Athens, but mostly as in Sparta. On 
the practical side, Pericles endeavored to bring the 
Athenians back to an absorption in the welfare of the 
state by beautifying Athens in every way, and by inter- 
esting them in public exhibitions, and, when these efforts 
failed, he appealed to their patriotism by involving them 
in the Peloponnesian War. 

The Mediators. — But the social process can never 
move backward, and a reconstruction on some higher 
plane is needed if the effects of destruction are to be 
overcome. Some plan to harmonize the interest of the 
individual with that of society had to be devised. The 
method of obtaining this desideratum was the problem 
set themselves by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As in 
the case of the sophists, they recognized that the tradi- 
tional beliefs and sanctions, including the gods, the old 
social order, and the former ideals and content of educa- 
tion, had been outlived, and that the individual could 



l8o A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

not find truth and morality through an institutional sys- 
tem of ethics. At the same time, they felt that the ex- 
treme individualism of the sophists was too negative a 
basis upon which to build. Without a more sociahzed 
standard of knowledge and morality, they saw that life 
could not be satisfactorily interpreted. Thus philos- 
ophy began as a means of better social expression, 
HowSoc- Socrates. — This mediating effort was begun by Soc- 

fromthe^'^ rates (469-399 B.C.), the homely and abstemious philos- 
sophists. opher, who taught contemporaneously with the sophists. 
While he started with the formula of Protagoras, he 
maintained that the 'man' indicated thereby was not the 
individual man. That is, there is a body of truth com- 
mon to the inteUigences of all men, and " man is the 
measure of all things " only so far as the knowledge by 
which he judges of the truth has this universal validity. 
It is not the peculiar view of any individual that repre- 
sents the truth, but the knowledge that is the same for 
every one. The former, which the sophists considered 
' knowledge,' Socrates held to be only ' opinion,' and de- 
clared that the reason men think so differently is because 
they see but one side of the truth, and do not understand 
the significance of their own thoughts. He differed 
from the sophists, then, in emphasizing in man not his 
mere pecuHarities, as tested by his sensations, impulses, 
and feelings, but rather his^rational, and so universal, 
self. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) l8l 

Socrates also believed that every one could get at 
this universal knowledge by stripping off the individual 
differences and laying bare the essentials upon which all 
men are agreed. He conceived it to be the mission of 
the true philosopher to enable the individual to do this, 
and, accordingly, he endeavored to train the mind of 
those with whom he came in contact, so that they could 
form valid conclusions. He felt it necessary to teach 
them to think rather than load them with ready-made 
information. Realizing that the ' pouring in ' process of 
the sophists in their lectures could never be effective, 
he adopted the plan of development through informal 
conversation. 

This method of Socrates has been known as dia- His * dia- 
lectic ('conversational'), and was twofold in nature, method: 
As the first step, Socrates thought it necessary to ^^' ^^^^^ 
dispel the undue assurance of the person he was 
teaching by a process called irofty ('dissembling'). 
He encouraged the individual to make a definite 
statement of his belief, which he took as a starting- 
point in the search for truth. Then, through a set 
of clever questions, he caused the person to develop 
his thought, until either a self-consistent conclusion 
was reached, or the individual became so involved in 
manifest contradictions or an actual reductio ad abstir- 
diim, that he was forced to admit that his view had 
been hastily formed, and was mere 'opinion,' after 



l82 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

all.i In the latter case, the person was put in the proper 
and frame of mind to continue the pursuit of truth. In 

thus developing the logical implications of a person's 
position, whether they led out to truth or error, he used 
a procedure that he called maientic ('midwifery'). In 
this, by means of questions, he caused the individual to 
see that the opinion he had first expressed was but a 
single phase of the universal truth, which he had thus 
helped him to develop or 'give birth to.' 
Moral aim Through this method of developing knowledge, Soc- 

of Socrates , . , .,..,, ,. ., 

in this theory rates strove to harmouize the mdividual welfare with 
edge"°^ ' ^^^^ ^^ ^^ social group. His aim was not so much to 
fit the individual for immediate practical success as to 
teach him how to live with his fellows. Accordingly, he 
applied his doctrine of universal knowledge within each 
person especially to morals, and made the accomplish- 
ment of right living come through the development in 
consciousness of universal truth. He, therefore, made 
morality consist in right knowledge, as did Plato after 
him ; and both left it to Aristotle to make the necessary 
distinction between the knowledge of an action and the 
impulse to perform it. 
Value of In estimating the value of this method of eliciting 

his method. . 

knowledge, it is easy to see that it would work well in 
the formulation of ethical principles,^ since this is within 

1 For a good example, read the account of his interview with the youthful 
and ambitious Euthydemus in Xenophon's Memorabilia, Bk. IV, Chap. II. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 183 

the reason of every individual, however unlearned. But 
it should also be noted that not everything was, or could 
be, drawn from the inner consciousness of the individual 
interrogated, but that Socrates himself contributed much 
to the progress of the discussion. Nevertheless, this 
furnishing of content, which is clearly necessary in all 
studies that are not purely schematic, does not interfere 
with the value of the Socratic method for efficient 
teaching. If a method arouses and holds the interest 
of the pupil, he may, without losing an iota of mental 
activity, be told many facts outright along the lines 
upon which his curiosity has been excited, especially 
if he cannot be expected to know them.^ The So- 
cratic method contains the germ idea of all modern 
pedagogy. 

But however valid the view of Socrates, it resulted in Results of 
the death of its promulgator. He was hated alike by teaching. 
the individualistic sophists, whose shallow and negative 
opinions he was continually exposing, and by the con- 
servative believers in the old traditions and institutional 
morality, who felt that Socrates was atheistic and im- 
moral, and the most dangerous among the sophists. 
Through the traditionalists, Athens was persuaded to 
give him the hemlock; and thus destroyed the man that 

^ This, however, does not seem to be understood by those educators who 
state, or imply by their practice, that it is wrong to furnish the pupil with 
uny information whatsoever, under the impression that by the Socratic 
method he should * discover ' everything for himself. 



l84 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

' might have been her savior.^ The spirit of Socrates,' 
however, continued to live, and what he saw but dimly 
became clearer as time went on. While it was too late 
to redeem Athens, his vision remained a great force in I 
the progress of thought. 

JPlato. — The rather vague formulations of Socrates 
were accepted by his pupil, Plato. Like many others, 
such as the Cynics and Cyrenaics, who made the most 
diverse interpretations from the somewhat inchoate 
statements of this master, Plato attempted to develop 
the thought of Socrates. He desired to build upon it 
a complete and fixed system for society, and thus arrest 
the disintegration that was going on. He continued the 
work of Socrates,^ but modified it in some important 
respects. To understand how this occurred will require 
a brief account of Plato's life and work. 
Plato and Plato (427-34/ B.C.) differed greatly in his attitude 

ophy. toward life from the democratic Socrates. He was by 

birth and temperament a natural aristocrat; and never 
mingled indiscriminately with all people, as did his 
teacher. He was not, however, out of sympathy with 
the masses, but his social position may have affected his 
estimate of their intelligence. After the death of Soc- 

1 See Plato's Apology, which gives Socrates' estimate of the causes of 
his accusation and condemnation. 

2 In fact, Plato represents Socrates as the chief expounder in practically 
all his dialogues, except The Laws. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 185 

rates, he left the state, and, becoming better acquainted 
through travel with the various philosophic movements 
of the times, he not only enlarged the character of his 
master's ethical teachings, but greatly broadened the 
scope of philosophy itself. Thus he came to plan an 
ideal state in which there should be more exalted prin- 
ciples, and practice should be in harmony with the 
highest possible theory. 

The Republic. — Plato's description of the ideal state 
is found especially in that one of his dialogues known 
as The Republic. In this work, he starts with the 
avowed object of investigating the nature of justice. 
Finding it difficult to analyze in the case of the indi- 
vidual, he proposes to examine it on a larger scale in 
the state as a whole.^ To accomplish this, he under- Evolution of 

. classes in the 

takes to describe the evolution of a model state and model state. 
the relations between its inhabitants. He shows how, in 
society, one industry or occupation after another is dif- 
ferentiated until a special class known as * guardians ' 
is set aside to protect the state and add to its territory. 

These guardians are to be separated from the indus- Elementary 

•11 ii'ri'i 11. education to 

trial classes on the basis of physical prowess and their be similar to 
intellectual and moral endowments, and to be given a butwith°^"^' 
suitable education. Apparently he assumes that those 'nipo'"'^^* 

'^ *• •' reforms. 

who are incapable of becoming guardians should not 

receive any education beyond apprenticeship. In de- 

1 Bk. II, 368. 



l86 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

scribing the course of study that the guardians are to 
take first, Plato naturally follows the education in vogue 
for boys up to eighteen years of age, in the home and 
at the palaestra, didascaleum, and gymnasium at Athens, 
but even here, at the start, he would undertake social 
regulation, and insists upon some rather important re- 
forms. " Our first duty," he says, " will be to exercise 
a censorship over the authors of fables, selecting their 
good productions, and rejecting the bad. And the 
selected fables we shall advise our nurses and mothers 
to repeat to their children, that they may thus mold 
their minds with the fables, even more than they shape 
their bodies with the hand." ^ So he claims that the 
literary element of the home and school training should 
be purified of all accounts that lower the character and 
dignity of the gods or the heroes of the past, or that 
would tend to create a fear of death. Likewise, music 
should be confined to the simple patriotic and religious 
melodies of the Dorians, and to instruments that are 
not difficult to play. In the matter of gymnastic train- 
ing, temperate living should be included ; and it should 
be a moral, rather than a physical discipline, since " the 
two arts of music and gymnastics are not really de- 
signed, the one for the training of the soul, the other 
for the training of the body, but the teachers of both 
have in view chiefly the improvement of the soul."^ 
1 Bk. II, 377. 2 Bk. Ill, 410. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 187 

iFrom this group of guardians are eventually to be Secondary 

^- . education 

selected the ablest and most prudent as magistrates of by means 
the state. The rest are to be regarded as their auxili- training, 
aries. This division is to be determined upon while 
the guardians are passing through the ephebic or cadet 
period of education that was customary in Athens 1 be- 
tween eighteen and twenty. They are to live in camp 
in a frugal and hardy way, enforce the laws, and repel 
the enemies of the state, if necessary .^ Those who show 
themselves capable of further education are to be 
selected for magistrates, while the others are to be 
relegated to the auxiUary class. 

At this point^ Plato seems to have completed his Analogy of 
search for justice in the state as a whole. This virtue, with the 
he declares, exists for the state, when each class attends '° '^^ "^ ' 
to its own business ; when the magistrates, in whom is 
the wisdom of the state, guide both the auxiharies or 
soldiery, who possess the courage and so defend the state, 
and the industrial class, whose only virtue is temper- 
ance and whose function is to produce. This arrange- 
ment he now claims to verify by comparing the state 
to the individual, declaring that justice exists in the 
individual when his reason, located in the head, which 
corresponds to the magistrates in the state, controls his 
spirit, lodged in the breast, and his passions, seated in 

1 See pp. 167-168. 2 Bk. Ill, 415-417. 

3 Bk. IV. 



l88 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the abdomen, whose counterparts are the military and 
industrial classes respectively. 
Rule of the Plato's proposition, then, as he soon makes more ex- 

philosophers ,. . . 

is necessary, plicit, IS to mtrust the entire control of the government 
to the magistrates, whom he now calls ' philosophers,' for 
" Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes 
of this world be imbued with a sufficient measure of gen- 
uine philosophy, — that is, unless political power and phi- 
losophy be united in the same person, . . . there will be no 
deliverance for cities nor yet for the human race ; neither 
can the commonwealth that we have now sketched in 
theory ever till then grow into a possibility, and see the 
light of day." ^ This class alone is capable of abstract 
thinking, and so possesses real knowledge or universal 
truth, while the other classes content themselves with 
mere opinion. This real knowledge Plato describes as 
coming to the philosophers through a vision of the 
* ideas,' ^ which he depicts as existing outside conscious- 
ness in a world by themselves and as being the arche- 
types from which all visible objects are molded.^ 

Higher edu- The philosophic class, therefore, requires an educa- 

cation for the 

philosophers, tion that wiU enable them to acquire the habit of specu- 

1 Bk. V, 473. 

2 Elsewhere {Phcedrus, 246 ff., Meno, 80 ff., etc.) he more fully develops 
this doctrine. He holds that in a previous existence the soul lived in the 
incorporeal vi'orld and beheld the ' ideas,' or pure forms of reality, and that 
a ' recollection ' of this vision is produced by a perception of similar corpo- 
real things for those in whom the philosophic impulse exists. ^Bk. VI. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 189 

lative thinking, or, in Plato's terms, "will turn the eye consisting of 
of the soul from the sensuous to the real." So Plato is geometry,' 
now obliged to invent a new course of study for the ^J^/ono^'^. 
purpose, as Greek education did not extend beyond the 
ephebic period or the twentieth year. This additional 
course, he declares, shall also be graded, in order that a 
further test of intellectual and moral qualities may be 
made. Arithmetic, plane and solid geometry, music, 
and astronomy, are to occupy the first ten years of the 
course. These subjects, however, are not to be studied 
for calculation or practical purposes of any sort, but 
entirely from the standpoint of theory or the universal 
relations underlying them, since only thus can they fur- 
nish a capacity for abstract thought or a vision of the 
ideas.^ After this, at thirty, those who show themselves and of dia- 

iiri 1 e , 1 • ft- lectic for 

capable of the study of real existence, or dialectic, go the most 
on with this subject for five years longer. It then *^^^^ ^^' 
becomes the duty of these highest philosophers to go 
out into society and guide it until they have reached 
the age of fifty, when they are to be allowed to retire.^ 
Their remaining days are to be spent in study and 
reflection, which is to be regarded as the highest life 
of all.3 

1 Bk. VII, 522-531. This seems to be the beginning of the theory of 
' formal discipline.' Plato's contention is that the precision of mathe- 
matics would train one to be exact in judgment about practical affairs in 
general. See p. 196. 

3 Bk. VII, 532-534. 3 Bk. VII, 539-540. 



1 90 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Education of 
women 
similar to 
that of 
men. 



How Plato 
differed from 
Socrates. 



In this state, as Plato shows in a digression^ from 
the main narrative, women are to receive a similar edu- 
cation to that of the men, even to the extent of wres- 
tling unclad in the palaestra. This is because women 
are to have the same functions in the state as men. 
" In the administration of the state neither a woman as 
a woman, nor a man as a man, has any special function, 
but the gifts of nature are equally diffused in both sexes ; 
all the pursuits of men are the pursuits of women also, 
and in all of them a woman is only a weaker man." 
Women, then, are also to be philosophers, soldiers, or 
workers according to their ability. In order that they 
may be freed from the cares of housekeeping and mother- 
hood, all living is to be in common,^ and the children that 
are born are to be reared in a state nursery, unless they 
are undesirable, when they are to be exposed. 

Criticism of The Republic. — In examining this ideal 
republic, it is first to be noted that Plato hardened the 
distinction which Socrates made between opinion and 
real knowledge ; and, by a new interpretation, gave the 
latter an existence of its own outside of consciousness. 
Also, where Socrates, who constantly mingled with the 
people, found the basis of this universal truth in-^ery 
one, Plato, possibly influenced by his aristocratic tend- 
encies, and by his contact with the Pythagorean com- 

^ Bk. V as far as 473, which contains his argument for community in 
wives, children, and property. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 191 

munity, declared that only one class of people, — the 
most intellectual, could attain to a vision of the ideas, or 
real knowledge. And since, like Socrates, he failed to 
discriminate between the cognitive and volitional, and 
so identified knowledge with virtue, it seemed to him 
that the philosophers should guide the conduct of all. 
Hence his ideal state became a sort of sociaKstic aris- 
tocracy or oligarchy of intelligence, and, in a way, 
seems to be a return to the old principle of subordinat- 
ing the individual to the state. 

Certainly in his desire to overcome the baneful effects Aristocratic 
of the extreme individualism of 'the times, Plato tended servative 
to depreciate the products of democracy in Athens. In^pj^t"^^ 
Nor could he realize that, while under a government of 
this sort there are abuses to be guarded against, and it 
takes a long time for the average person to reach the 
level of the most intelligent, yet progress, though slow 
and uncertain, is sure, and is accompanied by no Water- 
loo defeats.^ In some specific details also Plato seems 
to have been unable to rise above the most conservative 
thought of his times. He permits slavery, and provides 
no education for the industrial class ; family life is 
abandoned ; and he sanctions outright the cruel practice 
of exposing children. 

1 Plato feels, however, that while his republic is difficult of institution, 
so much so that it may have to be established by force (^Republic, VII, 
540), when once it has been put into effect it will never be overthrown 
(^Critias, pp. 120-121). See also pp. 192-193. 



192 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Progressive 
features of 
The Republic. 



Why The 
Republic 
had no 
immediate 
effect upon 
education. 



Yet The Republic cannot be regarded as a reversion. 
The scheme advocated at least enables each individual 
to do that for which he is by nature best fitted ; and, 
while he is to be pushed into his niche in life, rather 
than allowed to find it, to some extent self-realization is 
made compatible with social service. Moreover, the 
reason for allowing a special training and control to one 
class is not mere enjoyment or gratification of despotism, 
but because this form of government and this educa- 
tion are considered necessary to enable all classes to 
fulfill the function for which they are best fitted. And 
although women are to serve the interests of the state 
without regard to their own desires, they are not held 
to be either the slaves or the toys of men, and 
are allowed the same education as far as they can 
take it. 

But, as a matter of fact, while most inspiring, and of 
the greatest importance to the development of thought 
in the long run, The Republic had practically no imme- 
diate effect upon education or any other institution of 
Athens. It was regarded as the visionary conception 
of a great mind removed from the life of the times. 
Instead of taking cognizance of the actual conditions 
of society, it was artificially, though very poetically, 
based upon a false analogy. Society is not an organ- 
ism like the human body, and the members of it cannot 
be knitted together in such a way as to become one. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 193 

The Republic quite neglects human wilP as a factor 
in society, and assumes that men can be moved about 
in life like pieces upon the chessboard. Plato fails to 
see, too, that each individual really possesses all human 
characteristics. The artisans have reason, and the 
philosophers have appetite. A human being is not a 
man unless all these function in him. But even if all 
this were the case, the treatise provides no way for 
an evolution from the current conditions, but plunges 
society immediately into the new regime. Plato makes 
Socrates say that, while this scheme may not be fea- 
sible, the object is to have society approach it as nearly 
as possible, and this can be achieved by the one change 
of giving all control to the philosophers. He does not, 
however, make it clear how this step can be brought 
about, except to say that every one above the age of 
ten must somehow be removed from the city.^ And if 
it be further granted that this order of things could be 
established at once, Plato puts the ban upon all innova- 
tion or change, and so closes the door to progress. 

The Laws. — In fact, despite the suggestions in this Reversion to 
perfected order of affairs, social disorder steadily con- The Laws. 
tinned to increase, and Plato himself eventually realized 
that The Republic was impracticable, and that society 

^ For the place of will in Plato's psychology, see Mary Hay Wood's 
thesis on Plato's Psychology in lis Bearing on the Development of Will 
(London, 1907). 2 g^. VII, 541. See, however, footnote on p. 191^ 



194 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



How Plato 
has in- 
fluenced 
thought and 
practice in 
general. 



could be reformed only through the forces that built 
it. So in his declining years,i without denying The 
Republic as ideal, he wrote the dialogue known as 
The Laws, which was almost as much of a reversion 
to old traditions and ideals as the doctrine of Pythag- 
oras or the theology of iEschylus. In it he welded 
together elements from the educational systems of 
Sparta and older Athens. He replaced the archetypal 
ideas of The Republic with a pantheon of astronomical 
gods ; the philosophers were supplanted by the priests 
of these gods, an hereditary ruler, a superintendent of 
education, and various other officials ; their mystic vision 
of the ideas gave way to intelligence or common sense ; 
and the course of study reached its height with the sub- 
ject of mathematics, while dialectic was not mentioned. 
<^ Influence of Plato. — Thus the efforts of Socrates, as 
continued by Plato, to obtain the benefit of the growing 
individualism for society and education without disrupt- 
ing them, had seemingly come to naught. Neverthe- 
less, Plato has had considerable influence upon the 
thought and practice of men since the Greek period. 
The ideal society, where everything is well managed 
and every one is in the position for which nature 
intended him, has ever since the day of The Republic 
been a favorite theme for writers, as witness the Utopia 



1 The Laws is generally considered to be the last dialogue written by 
Plato, but this is questioned by some authorities. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 195 

of More, Bacon's New Atlantis, and the more modern 
Looking- Backward of Bellamy. At times, more or less 
disastrous attempts to realize these ideals have been 
made, as in the case of Brook Farm, the Oneida Per- 
fectionists, and a variety of socialistic and communistic 
colonies. However, even if impracticable for the time, 
an ideal may yet be of value, as Plato intimated, if it 
affords us an advanced goal for our efforts. On the 
other hand, while Plato's comparison of the state to a 
human organism has in some ways proved most illumi- 
nating for writers on social subjects, like Hobbes and 
Spencer, it has led them into strange fallacies, and is 
responsible for such phrases to-day as ' social body,' 
'body politic,' or 'social organism,' and the various 
scientific and philosophic errors that have grown out 
of such implications. 

In more specific movements Plato has also left his More specific 
impress upon the world of thought. The contempla- pjato: 
tive life of the philosophers, removed from the organi- 
zation of the state, but inspiring and controlling it, 
as depicted in The Republic, and afterward made more 
definite through the ' intellectual virtue ' commended by 
Aristotle, was the progenitor of a variety of extra-social 
schools of philosophy. These in their turn prepared the upon 
way for an understanding of the mission of Christianity, monasUdsm, 
when it was estabhshed, as an institution outside the ^d^^^ed^- 
state, but endeavoring to bring the latter up to its own vai realism; 



196 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



loftier ideals. So, too, the regimen recommended for 
these isolated philosophers, together with a similar prac- 
tice among the Jews and in the discipline of Pythagoras, 
may be held somewhat responsible for ' monasticism ' 
and * asceticism ' in mediaeval times. It is also apparent 
that the doctrine of * mysticism,' which started in the 
early Church, but has somewhat survived in present-day 
theology, is a revival of the mystic vision of the ideas, 
and upon the which was retained in Neoplatonism. Likewise, the 

monastic . ^ . . i , 1 • 

course of notion of the ideas as the 'real things was adopted 
the doctrine ^Y Ansclm and other mediaeval realists, and died hard 
of formal bcforc the onslaught of nominalism and conceptualism. 

disciphne. ° ^ 

Again, in the matter of content, Plato's approval of the 
music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy of Pythag- 
oras, and his adoption of dialectic from Socrates, when 
combined with the grammar and rhetoric of the soph- 
ists, furnished the monastic schools with their trivimn 
and quadrivium. Possibly, too, it may be held that the 
whole notion of ' liberal ' studies, and so the doctrine of 
'formal discipline,' reaffirmed especially by Locke, goes 
back to Plato's idea that the subjects in the special 
course for philosophers should never be studied from 
a practical point of view; but Aristotle's claim in his 
Politics that professional skill should never be attained 
in music or other subjects, and particularly his division 
of the mind into faculties in his Psychology, seem more 
clearly the ancestors of this long-lived educational error. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 197 

As a whole, it is evident that Plato has been a factor 
in educational theory and practice that cannot be over- 
looked, and The Republic will always remain a master- 
piece of general literature and a great educational 
classic, even though both his theoretical and practical 
treatises failed to harmonize individualism with the old 
traditions. 

Aristotle. — A more practical attempt to unify the new Aristotle's 

life and 

with the old in Greek society and education was made works, 
by Aristotle (386-322 B.C.), the pupil, and later the rival, 
of Plato. He came to Athens from Macedon, where 
his father was the court physician. Partly from his 
father and the scientific schools of Macedon, but more 
from his study under Plato in Athens, he obtained an 
excellent training, which is observable in the way he 
approaches his problems. Fortunately, the lectures of 
Aristotle survive in his treatises, as he spent his literary 
activities in preserving his notes in the form of books, 
instead of writing dialogues as did Plato. In conse- 
quence, while his works lack the imagery and polish of 
Plato, they treat their subjects much more systematically. 
Aristotle waited until his ideas were fully matured 
before beginning to put them into final form, as he 
intended to maintain a consistent point of view through- 
out a complete system of thought. This encyclopaedic 
work could not be finished within the dozen years of 
life left to him, and many of the treatises he wrote have 



198 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



The sum- 
mutn bomim 
is activity 
of soul in 
accordance 
with virtue. 



since been lost, but sufficient material has come down to 
us to mark him as one of the greatest minds the world 
has ever known. He gave the first real impulse to 
biology, physiology, physics, mechanics, and psychology; 
his Poetics was the first attempt at a science of aesthetics ; 
and his treatises on logic, metaphysics, ethics, and poli- 
tics hold their own among the greatest works ever pro- 
duced on the subjects. 

The Ethics and The Politics. — Aristotle's ideas on edu- 
cation are contained in The Ethics and The Politics, the 
one describing how the individual must discipline himself 
in life, and the other, what social and economic conditions 
in the state are most favorable for reaching this end. 
In The Ethics he begins by inquiring what is the greatest 
good or the * end ' of human action, and declares that, 
while practically all men hold that this end is ' happi- 
ness,' 1 they differ greatly in the content they assign to 
the term, and that it should, therefore, be more carefully 
analyzed. He then continues : — 

" Probably the best way to arrive at a definition will 
be to ascertain what is the peculiar function of man, 
for, as with a flute-player, sculptor, or artisan, and, in 
fact, any one who has a definite function or course of 
action, his goodness or excellence seems to lie in this 
function, so it would seem to be with man, if he has a 

1 I.e. eudaimonia ('good fortune'), from which a school of ethical 
philosophy called ' eudremonism ' is derived. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 199 

definite function, . . . What, then, can this pecuhar 
function of man be ? It is not mere life, for apparently 
man has life in common with the plants, and we must, 
therefore, exclude nutrition and growth. Next, there is 
also sensation ; but this, too, man appears to share with 
horses, cattle, and all other lower animals. There 
remains, then, what may be called the practical life of 
a being which possesses rationality. But this rationality 
has a twofold meaning; it is rational partly in the sense 
of being obedient to reason, and partly in the sense of 
exercising reason and intelligence. This practical life 
may, accordingly, be spoken of in two ways, — (from the 
standpoint of habit or activity), but the life of activity 
seems to be the better way to conceive of it. The func- 
tion of man, then, is activity of soul in accordance with 
reason, or at least not independent of reason. More- 
over, it has been seen that the functions of a certain 
person and of such a person when he is good in his 
subject, are the same in kind, so that his excellence 
is only a goodness in addition to his function; for 
example, it is the function of the harpist to play the 
harp, and of a good harpist to play it well. So if the func- 
tion of a man is activity of the soul in accordance with 
reason, and of a good man it is such activity of a good 
and noble kind, it must be true that the greatest good of 
man is activity of soul in accordance with virtue." ^ 

1 Bk. I, Chap. VII, §§ 8-12. 



200 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



The soul is 
rational and 
irrational, 
and the 
virtues are 
intellectual 
and moral. 



Moral virtue 
is tested by 
the ' relative 
mean.' 



Having come to . this conclusion, Aristotle finds it 
necessary to analyze 'soul' and 'virtue.' The soul he 
separates into two parts, — the irrational and rational. 
The former of these is then divided into nutrition and 
growth, which are completely without reason, and the 
impulses and desires, which may or may not be con- 
trolled by reason. In so far as they do yield to 
reason, they are to be classed with the rational part of 
the soul. Similarly, virtues are to be distinguished as 
'intellectual,' such as wisdom, intelligence, and pru- 
dence, which belong to the rational soul, and as ' moral,' 
such as liberality and temperance, where the desires are 
controlled by reason, and right action has arisen from 
habit. 

The moral virtues are discussed before the intellectual, 
since the formation of moral habits is regarded as the 
first step toward the unimpeded activity of the reason, 
and so to the attainment of the higher or intellectual 
virtues. While man by nature does not possess these 
moral virtues, he may in early life be impressed by 
instruction and form moral habits through repeated 
acts of obedience. The rational principle that is to be 
applied by the trainer of the child in the formation of 
moral habits is found in Aristotle's 'relative mean.' 
According to this doctrine, an impulse becomes a virtue, 
if held to the mean and so compelled to avoid the ex- 
tremes of excess and deficiency. For example, — 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 201 

** He who flees and is afraid of everything, becomes 
a coward ; while he who fears nothing at all, but 
goes boldly against everything, becomes rash. In like 
manner, he who indulges in the enjoyment of every 
pleasure and refrains from none is intemperate, but 
he who shuns all, as do the dull and boorish, becomes 
an insensate sort of person," ^ 

In this same way he discusses at length all the Philosophic 

speculation 

Other virtues. Intellectual virtue, then, which belongs is the highest 
to the rational soul proper, is the outgrowth of moral 
virtue, and the possession of it has in turn the function 
of determining the relative mean, the observance of 
which characterizes moral virtue. The highest of all 
vyirtues, therefore, is that of the speculative life, which 
is found in the philosopher. This virtue is declared 
in the last book to be that of the gods, for they cannot 
be supposed to demean themselves with any other 
activity than speculation. The philosopher, therefore, 
is nearest to the gods, who are preeminently happy, 
and is also most beloved by them on that account.^ 
But moral virtue, which is secondary, can be attained 
by all persons, even those who are not capable of 
becoming philosophers. 

Aristotle thus makes virtue consist primarily in HowAris- 

,..,.. . totle differed 

brmgmg the impulses into harmony with reason, and from Plato, 
finds the idea not in a supersensuous world, but within 
1 Bk, II, Chap, II, §§ 5-6. « gk^ x, Chap, VIII, §§ 8 and 19-20, 



202 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the experience of all. In this way he welds the dualism 
that Plato created between sensation and reason. So, 
too, The Ethics erases the division line between theory 
and practice that seems to exist in The Republic, 
although Plato maintains that the two should never 
be separated.! While with Aristotle, as with Socrates, 
the greatest good is virtue, with the former this does 
not consist merely in knowledge, but in a tendency to 
express one's self in rational action. Even the highest 
intellectual virtue or speculation, although it seems to 
be clearly connected with the vision of the universal 
truth in Plato, is the result of activity, for philosophy 
is not held to make one virtuous, except as he puts 
it into practice. Aristotle thus unites theory and 
practice by making clearer the distinction between 
the cognitive and the conative or volitional aspects of 
consciousness. 
The Politics Aristotle, however, saw that the moral excellence 
The Ethics, of the individual can be reached only in the life of 
the community. "The state," said he in The Politics, \ 
" is a creation of nature, and man is by nature a political , 
animal. . . . He who is unable to live in society, or who 
has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must 

1 See p. 193. Aristotle holds that real existence is not separate from 
the phenomenal world, but finds its realization in it. His doctrine of 
'entelechy' {entelecheia) is this self-realization of the essence {dynamis) 
in the actual {energeia). 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 203 

i be something more or less than a man, — either a god 
\ or a beast; he is no part of a state. A social instinct 
i is implanted in all men by nature."^ So Aristotle's 
j Ethics should be regarded as introductory to, though 
correlative with, his Politics. 
/ In this second work he discusses first the origin Aristotle's 
and meaning of a ' state ' and a ' citizen.' He shows that is theo- 
the state grew out of material needs, but is continued a^monarchy 
for the sake of the life of reason. Nevertheless, he but because 

of the possi- 

defends slavery in the state on the ground that some bmtyof 

deteriora- 

races are so inferior by nature as practically to be tion, a de- 
born slaves ; and holds that the industrial classes should ^g preferred. 
be excluded from citizenship, since they have no leisure 
in which to practice virtue or perform political duties. 
Here, also, before describing the perfect state, he 
makes a critical analysis of Plato's Republic and Laws,^ 
and analyzes the organization of many other states, 
both ideal and actual.^ He concludes that, while a 

1 Bk. I, Chap. II, §§ 9 and 14. 

2 His purpose in this analysis, however, is to show the foundation 
for his ideal state in that of Plato. 

^ These analyses and comparisons of governments are found in 
Book II. It was in keeping with the inductive method of Aristotle 
that, before formulating any theory of the state, he wrote out the consti- 
tutions of one hundred and fifty-eight states, that he might see whether 
his hypotheses covered the facts. The manuscript of his Constitution 
of Athens was accidentally discovered in some rolls of papyrus, and 
acquired by the British Museum in 1890. 



204 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

monarchy is theoretically the best type of government, 
yet, because of the probabiHty of the king's deteriorat- 
ing into a tyrant, the form most likely to be exercised 
for the good of the governed and least liable to be 
perverted is the democracy.^ Since, however, it is 
the expedient rather than the best government, it 
should be as little democratic as possible, and the 
power of the people should be minimized wherever 
it can be done without their perceiving it.^ Aristotle 
then^ investigates the most fitting life for this model 
state. He holds as a general proposition that the 
ideal state, like the ideal individual, is the one which 
leads a life of virtue, and thus attains happiness. 
Passing to details, he considers at length the best 
natural and social conditions for a state. 
Education in His final topic among these practical considerations 

the model . , . ^ , t ^ ■, 

state must IS the proper education for the state, to the end that 
practfcar'^'^'^ the citizens may be made virtuous. But since virtue 
is of two kinds, moral or practical, and intellectual or 
speculative, and the former is merely the stepping-stone 
to the latter, the education needed for the virtue of the 
state must not, like that of Sparta, be purely a training 
for war and practical affairs. It must be primarily 
intellectual, since war should exist only for the sake of 
peace, and business for the sake of leisure. 

1 See Bks. Ill and IV. 2 Bk. VI. 

8 Bk. VII. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 205 

To mark off the periods of education, Aristotle again Periods of 

, -. , 1 « • rr^i T-. 1 • 1 education. 

examines the nature of the soul. As m The Ethics, he 
divides it into the irrational and the rational, but to the 
former he here assigns only the impulses and desires. 
Nutrition and growth are now considered functions of 
the body. From this division it appears that ** As the 
body is prior in order of generation to the soul, so the 
irrational is prior to the rational. The proof is that 
anger, will, and desire are implanted in children from 
their very birth; but reason and understanding are 
developed as they grow older. Wherefore the care of 
the body ought to precede that of the soul, and the train- 
ing of the impulsive side of the soul ought to come next ; 
nevertheless, the care of it must be for the sake of the 
reason, and the care of the body for the sake of the soul. ' ' ^ 
i,The development of the body Aristotle wishes to start Bodily 

training. 

even before birth, by having the legislator "consider 
how the frames of the children whom he is rearing may 
be as good as possible, and make marriage his first 
care, — at what age his citizens should marry and who 
are fit to marry." ^ Also he deems it necessary to sanc- 
tion the usage of his time of exposing all deformed or 
weakly children ; and he goes so far as to recommend 
abortion for those who would prevent an excess of 
children. However, his advice^ concerning the food, 

1 Bk, VII, Chap. XV, §§ 9-10. 2 gk, yil, Chap. XVI, § i. 

3 Bk. VII, Chap. XVII, §§ 1-2. 



206 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

clothing, and exercise of the children that are to be 

reared, is much more humane, and in many respects 

very sensible, even according to modern hygiene. He 

also holds that the child's games should not be vulgar, 
i 
i tiring, or riotous ; and care should be taken that he hear 

I no improper stories or language, and see no indecent 
pictures. For this reason, boys should come in contact 
with slaves as little as possible, and should not be 
allowed to attend satirics or comedy. 

'^Xhe training thus far traced is a preparation for the 
formal schooling, which is to last from seven to twenty- 
one, and is divided into two periods by puberty. Educa- 
tion should be public, Aristotle claims, as in Sparta, 
for it is the business of the state to see that its citizens 
are all rendered virtuous.^ However, he has previously 
maintained that the industrial classes have no need of 
education, since they are not citizens,^ and that women, 
since they are radically different from men, are to be 
limited in the scope of their training.^ 
Education of The coursc of study that he follows is largely the 

the irrational . ,i , • , a i 1,1 t i 

soul: same m content as that m use at Athens, although he 

gymnastics, recommends some reforms. He discusses gymnastics 

as a continuation of the bodily training, and the need 

of music and literary subjects for the irrational soul ; 

1 Bk. VIII, Chap. I, §§ 3-4. Compare Bk. V, Chap. IX, §§ II-I2. 
2Bk. Ill, Chap. IV, §§ 11-12, and elsewhere. 
8Bk. I, Chap. XIV, § 15. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 20/ 

but with Aristotle even gymnastics is intended for self- 
; control and beauty of form, and so also has to do with 
training the irrational soul. The making of neither ath- 
letes nor warriors should be the object, since excessive 
training exhausts the constitution, and martial education 
is brutalizing, as the history of the Spartans clearly 
shows. Not until three years after puberty, therefore, 
should hard exercise and forced dieting begin. During 
the intervening years the youths are to devote them- 
selves to reading, writing, music, and drawing. 

These literary subjects are not to be taught merely literary 

sut^iccts 

for utilitarian reasons. " Children should be instructed 
in reading and writing not only for their usefulness, but , 
also because many other sorts of knowledge are acquired) 
through them. With a like view they may be taught) 
drawing, not to prevent their making mistakes in their; 
own purchases, or in order that they may not be imposed ; 
upon in the buying or selling of articles, but rather 
because it makes them judges of the beauty of the 
human form." ^ 

Music is discussed by Aristotle at considerable and music, 
length. It may be used for relaxation or for intel- 
lectual enjoyment, but higher development is its special 
purpose. Music inspires us, he claims, with the most 
vivid imitations of real emotions. " Some melodies 
make men sad and grave, like the mixed Lydian ; 

1 Bk. VIII, Chap. Ill, §§ II-I2. 



208 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

others enfeeble the mind, like the relaxed harmonies ;! 
others produce a moderate and settled temper, which/ 
appears to be the pecuhar effect of the Dorian; the] 
Phrygian inspires enthusiasm." ^ Since melodies that ) 
afford pleasure are connected with noble ideas, and 
those which give us pain are joined to debased ideas, 
the study of music " cultivates the habit of forming \ 
right judgments, and of taking delight in good disposi- ' 
tions and noble actions." Another moral effect of 
music, he declares later,^ is that it produces katJiarsis 
('purification'). He explains this term in another 
treatise,^ which shows that his meaning here is that 
music, by arousing in us pity and fear for humanity at 
large, lifts us out of ourselves and affords a safe vent 
for our emotions. 

{^ He maintains that children should be taught to play 
and sing themselves, since " it is difficult, if not impos- 
sible, for those who do not perform to be good judges 
of the performances of others," but they should not 
seek the skill of a professional, for this would be un- 
worthy of a gentleman. He also condemns as immoral 
the flute and several other instruments, " which are 
intended only to give pleasure to the hearer, and re- 
quire extraordinary skill." 
Education of Such was the training for the body and the impulsive 
soul. or irrational side of the soul. How Aristotle would 

1 Bk. VIII, Chap. V, § 22. 2 Bk. VIII, Chap. VII, § 3. » Poe/ics, VI. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 209 

have advised that the education of the rational soul 
should be carried on, can only be surmised, for the 
: treatise breaks off suddenly at this point, possibly 
* through his unfulfilled intention to return to it at some 
later day. But he elsewhere ^ declares that the citizens 
should exercise practical functions of two sorts : (i) active 
service, civil and military, which must be carried on 
by young and vigorous men ; and (2) advisory duties, 
which would require the matured wisdom of elderly 
men ; and that the very oldest of all, since they have 
had most experience with divine things, should become 
the priests of the state. But he could hardly have been 
satisfied with merely a practical training. It is not 
improbable, from his position in The Ethics and else- 
where, that the citizens, as a means of further efficiency 
after twenty-one, were to be given a higher training in 
mathematical sciences and dialectic not unlike that 
advocated by Plato. And it is likely that, from his own 
predilections, he would also have added some physical 
and biological science to the earlier part of this course. 

Criticism of The Ethics and The Politics. — Thus Aris- why The 

Politics 

totle, like Plato, endeavored to work out the harmonizing bailed to 
of individual with social interests by the creation of an f^J^^i^yi^- 
ideal state. The greatest good for man, he claimed, uaiandthe 
depends upon the realization of his peculiar function of 
rationality, but the state may be so shaped as to 

1 Bk. VII, Chap. IX, §§ 4-9. 



210 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

afford the most complete exercise of this faculty. The 
state is both means and end ; it produces the proper 
type of individual through its training, and is itself 
shaped by the acts of these individuals. Hence through- 
out The Politics, as in The Republic and The Laws, a 
large importance is attached to the function' of education 
in the state. 

Nevertheless, the state of Aristotle, like that of Plato, 
failed to answer the demand of the times. While it 
was much less visionary and nearer the actual condi- 
tions than The Republic, and was not so hard and fast 
as to preclude absolutely the introduction of improve- 
ment and change, it could not recognize the significance 
of individualism. The day of the small isolated states 
of Greece, with their narrow prescriptions for patriotism 
and social order, had passed forever. While Aristotle 
seems to feel this vaguely in declaring that the ideal 
state is a great empire holding broad and diverse in- 
terests and having a large-minded monarch at its head, 
he failed to perceive how rapidly the era of exclusive- 
ness was fading away, and so hoped to achieve some 
reform by departing but little from existing conditions 
and reading a sort of philosophy into them. 

It is this partial bondage to his times and his lack of 
imagination that account for his defense of slavery and 
insistence upon the inferiority of barbarians, the dis- 
franchisement and lack of education for the industrial 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 211 

classes, the subordination of women, and the exposure 
of children. For this reason, his educational system 
made practically no advance beyond that of Plato, and 
there were no forces within the state to put into effect 
the reforms that he did recommend. 

Influence of Aristotle. — Consequently, the work of Little im- 

.. ,., , , . ,. TT- • mediate 

Aristotle was a failure for the time being. His treatises effect of 
had little or no effect upon society, and the school of "^*° ^* 
the Peripatetics, which he founded, did little toward 
developing his philosophy and science. They largely 
confined their efforts to collecting and interpreting the 
master's works, and completing them by a combination 
of the fragments. Early in the third century all his 
writings were carried to Asia Minor by the head of 
the school and hidden in a vault to avoid destruction. 
There they lay for nearly two centuries, when they 
were taken to the library at Alexandria,^ and later 
were brought to Rome. 

The ideas of Aristotle, however, were not destined to Later in- 
be without results. While his immediate influence in through his 
general was little felt, and the direct effect of his teach- ™^* ° ' 
ings upon education in particular was small, his philo- 
sophic and scientific treatises have since been considered 
of great value, and the method that he formulated has 
been most important in the development of civilization, 
especially in the Middle Ages. Instead of trying to 
1 See p. 220. 



212 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



his logic 
and other 
sciences, 



and his 
terminology. 



find truth in a mystic world beyond the senses through 
an appeal to the individual consciousness, as did Plato, 
Aristotle investigated the conditions of the objective 
vv^orld and sought to check on the hypotheses he formed 
by an appeal to the historic consciousness of the race. 
Thus he regularly sought confirmation of his theories 
in the statements of the philosophers, the masses, and 
other exponents of social inheritances. He believed 
that whatever is attained by the method of introspection, 
as was seen in the case of the dialectic of Socrates,^ 
must be formal and lacking in content. Thus he came 
to set aside dialectic in favor of the inductive method. 

As a result, through the use of this method, he not 
only started, or made the first important contributions 
to, a number of sciences, as was stated at the beginning 
of this account, but in his Organon he also formulated 
the laws of thought itself. While he accomplished 
much less in working out induction than deduction, 
practically nothing has been added to formal logic since 
his day. Logic was regarded by him not as a separate 
science, but as introductory to all sciences ; and, for 
this reason, his philosophy and science were universal 
in nature, and he may be considered the father of the 
whole progressive search for truth. 

Also, as instruments to assist in fashioning the vari- 
ous sciences, Aristotle forged a complete system of ter- 

1 See p. 183. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 213 

minology, which has been of great value in philosophy 
and natural science alike ever since his day. Through 
his efforts to systematize thought were created such 
pairs as 'matter' and 'form,' and 'mean' and 'extreme,' 
and such convenient expressions as ' end ' in the sense 
of purpose in view, 'final cause,' 'principle,' and 
'maxim,' and the common psychological term of 'habit' 
and the now outworn ' faculty.' 

In definite historical movements also Aristotle's in- influence 
fluence has been apparent. His part in preparing the il;a°move-'^" 
way for Christianity through accustoming people to the "^^"'^z 

-' JO o JT J. organization 

idea of an inspirational body outside society, and his °^ Christian- 

_ ^ / ■' ity; formal 

responsibility for the doctrine of 'formal discipline,' discipline; 
have already been touched upon in summarizing Plato. 
But a more important effect of Aristotle's ideas has been 
that upon the formulation of doctrine in the Christian 
Church. After Greek learning had been banished from 
Europe through the Emperor Justinian in 529 a.d., 
Aristotelianism took refuge in the East. Eventually, and chris- 
through the spread of Mohammedanism, which had after the 
largely absorbed the doctrine of Aristotle, it became Molfa^Lmed- 
generally popular in the twelfth and thirteenth centu- anism. 
ries and threatened to overthrow Christianity. There- 
fore, Aristotelianism was at first bitterly opposed by the 
Church ; but, finding it impossible to suppress it, the 
Church finally decided to adopt it and clothe her own 
doctrine in it. The greatest of the schoolmen, such as 



214 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, and Thomas 
Aquinas, began to study it, and soon made it the effect- 
ive weapon of the Church by reducing all human knowl- 
edge to a finished Aristotelian system with theology at 
the top. The doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church 
are consequently decked in an Aristotelian garb to-day. 
The introduction of Aristotelianism, however, also en- 
couraged the use of reason, and so indirectly led to both 
the Renaissance and the Reformation. 
Failure of Triumph of Individualism. — But the irenic attempt 

reconcile the of Aristotle was fruitless. While his measures were 
old with the j^Qj-g practical and scientific than those of Socrates and 

new order. " 

Plato, and far more progressive than the ideals of Py- 
thagoras, ^schylus, and Xenophon, he likewise failed 
in the attempt to reconcile with the old and settled 
order the ever-expanding movement toward individual- 
ism. Thus all efforts to control the tendencies of the 
time were vain. Through the instrumentality of the 
sophists, the traditional religion and morals had been 
disrupted, and the masses were unable to grasp the 
rational moral teachings that were intended to take 
their place. Corruption in politics and social life, due 
to the prosperity of Athens, when combined with the 
denial of every norm of conduct, continued to under- 
mine the foundation until, before long, it tottered and 
fell. The terrible misfortunes of the Peloponnesian War 
and the conquest of the Greek states by Philip of Macedon 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 21$ 

were only symptomatic of the complete collapse of cor- 
porate life and the inabihty to reconstruct it successfully. 

Later Greek Education. — With the downfall of the Later Greek 
polity of Athens, what national pride had remained shows indi- 
was lost. All possibility of social unity disappeared, ^' '^^'sm. 
and philosophy no longer considered the individual 
from the standpoint of membership in society. It 
was occupied no further with the harmonization of 
the individual and the state, but concerned itself with 
the welfare of the individual and the art of living. In- 
dividualism was completely triumphant, and education 
was considered simply as a means to personal develop- 
ment or happiness, without regard to one's fellows. 
The new theories of life and education were formulated 
by philosophers or schools of philosophy that kept them- 
selves far removed from society. Where formerly the 
philosophers had sought a practical ideal for expression 
in life, the intellectual activity itself now became their 
ideal. Philosophy had begun as an effort toward secur- 
ing better social expression, but now the mere pleasure 
of speculating was sufficient. So any means may tend 
to harden and become an end in itself. 

Philosophical Schools. — This tendency is noticeable individ- 
even as early as the foundation of the schools at the tendencies 
Academy and Lyceum, two well-known gymnasia, where ^^ *|^^ca?^^°* 
Plato and Aristotle respectively had taught.^ The mem- schools. 

1 See footnote on page 165. 



2l6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

bers of the latter were commonly known as Peripatetics, 
from their founder's habit of carrying on his discussions 
while walking to and fro. But individualistic ideals are 
much more apparent in several post- Aristotelian schools, 
such as the Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics. The Epi- 
cureans considered individual pleasure the goal of life, 
and while their founder, Epicurus (341-270 b.c), and 
his earlier followers, did not mean thereby the pursuit of 
sensual pleasure, it eventually came to this. With Sto- 
icism, instituted by Zeno (340-265 B.C.), and given a 
more scientific trend by Chrysippus (280-209 b.c), the 
end to be sought was freedom from desire and external 
wants, and so immunity from the disturbances and trivi- 
alities of the world. True satisfaction, the Stoics claimed, 
lay within the individual mind, and on the basis of this 
they developed the loftiest ethical code before the 
time of Christ. When their activities were trans- 
ferred to Rome, they included most of the great mor- 
alists among their adherents. Skepticism, on the other 
hand, was a complete reaction from the long period of 
speculation, and represented an absolute distrust of all 
reason. Pyrrho (365-275 b.c), the first skeptic, main- 
tained that, since a final decision concerning external 
things is out of the question, one should take refuge 
in ignorance and indifference. This was more indi- 
vidualistic and anarchistic than even the doctrine of 
Protagoras. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 217 

None of these * schools ' could be so termed in the Lack of 
sense of offering an education, but rather in the mod- 
ern usage of a group of adherents to certain teachings. 
They were merely sects, and did not, through their suc- 
cessive heads, make any serious attempt to construct 
doctrines beyond those of their founders. They spent 
their energy, for the most part, in interpreting, elabo- 
rating, and lauding the original teachings. The result 
was a stereotyped dogmatism and a descent from the 
heights of philosophy. And yet for several centuries 
these philosophic schools, especially the Stoic and Epi- 
curean, held sway. 

Rhetorical Schools. — But sects of this character were Origin of 
not the only outcome of the teaching of the sophists, schools. 
These schools, as has been seen, came about gradually 
from the speculative tendencies of the sophists as de- 
veloped through certain famous philosophers, but there 
also grew up more directly from their efforts to train 
young men in rhetoric and public speaking a multitude 
of rhetorical schools, in which a formal study was made 
of oratory and the knowledge of the day. Their pro- 
fessed object was to make successful men of the world, 
and they laid little claim to teaching anything solid or 
profound, much less to forming any philosophic habits. 
They succeeded in spreading a popular education among 
a people that had lost all hope of political life and had 
found their highest means of expression in polite society. 



2l8 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

isocratesand One of the earliest of these schools, and the most rep- 
utable and influential of all, was that of the florid Isoc- 
rates (436-338 B.C.). He had been a pupil of Socrates, 
but became distrustful of the value of abstract specula- 
tion as a means of making the thoughtful man and 
efficient citizen. Accordingly, he started to prepare 
young men for public life through a study of rhetoric 
and the prudential philosophy of the world. As he was 
a man of large political interests and general culture, 
the training he afforded was broad and rational, except 
for its attitude toward philosophy and science. He be- 
lieved that eloquence is the product of the virtuous soul, 
and that a beautiful style is the handmaid of virtue in 
the individual and of justice in the state. Hence he 
held that the entire higher education should be linguistic 
and literary. In this way he helped the philosophers 
make Athens a great literary center. 

Later schools But the rhetorical schools soon degenerated into nar- 
row and formal methods. The later rhetoricians at- 
tempted to hasten oratorical training and preparation 
for life by teaching their pupils ready-made speeches 
and dialogues together with isolated pieces of informa- 
tion. The students thus acquired a certain glibness 
and a superficial knowledge of questions of the day in 
addition to the mere technique of oratory. Neverthe- 
less, these schools flourished for several centuries and 
closely rivalled those of the philosophers. 



of rhetoric. 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 219 

Universities. — From these two classes of schools, the Deveiop- 
philosophical and the rhetorical, the fame of Athens university 
spread rapidly, and from the fourth century before ° * ^°^' 
Christ onward the numbers of young men from all over 
the civilized world who came there to study steadily in- 
creased. In Athens itself the old ephebic training was 
gradually modified so as to allow the youths to attend 
courses of one or more philosophers or rhetoricians in 
the intervals between their active duties, and about the 
time of the Macedonian conquest the whole physical 
training was first narrowed to a single year and then 
made optional. About the same time the intellectual 
education was made compulsory. Thus from the union 
of physical and intellectual training sprang a regular in- 
stitution or university, which the Athenian youths were 
compelled to attend, and to which students from outside 
might come. As many of the latter had received but 
little preparation ;for the work, there arose a number of 
private teachers as dependent or subordinate officers of 
the university. 

'vBefore long, the Hellenic world boasted other univer- 
sities, such as those at Rhodes, Pergamon, Alexandria, 
and Rome. Nevertheless, Athens, until almost 300 a.d., 
remained the chief intellectual center of civilization. It 
afforded the best opportunities for philosophical, scien- 
tific, literary, grammatical, and rhetorical work, and 
continued to attract students from all parts of the Roman 



220 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Empire. But the tendency of higher education there 
was toward the study of rhetoric alone ; and, while great 
teachers like Isocrates had been able to maintain the 
union between education and real life, even after style 
rather than knowledge had become the object, artificial- 
ity grew apace, and decay finally resulted. 

In consequence, some time during the third century 
after Christ, Alexandria displaced Athens as the center 
of culture, and her university became the leading one 
of the world. This university had grown out of the 
museum and library founded about 300 b.c. by the 
Ptolemies. These institutions were maintained in pur- 
suance of the policy of Alexander to make of his name- 
sake a city of predominant influence in the Greek world. 
Here were collected the most remarkable sets of Greek, 
Egyptian, Babylonio-Assyrian, and Jewish manuscripts 
that had ever been known ; and here the most distin- 
guished scholars of the day lectured on philosophy, 
letters, and science. About the library and museum 
gathered the various philosophic sects to study and dis- 
cuss, and the doctrines promulgated were not limited to 
Greek thought, but included beliefs from Egypt and the 
Orient. 

Hence it was naturally here that the higher abstract 
Greek philosophy united with the more concrete beliefs 
of the Orient, including especially Zoroastrianism, Juda- 
ism, and Christianity. Thus there flourished at this 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 221 

center the various systems of religious philosophy- 
known collectively as 'Hellenistic,' such as Neopytha- 'Hellenistic' 

T,T 1 • TM -1 • /^ ,• ' 1 philosophy, 

goreanism, Neomazdeism, Philonism, Gnosticism, and 
Neoplatonism. Consequently, it was at Alexandria that 
the more liberal of the Christian fathers, Pantaenus, 
Clement, and Origen, started their school. But science 
was equally well represented with philosophy and 
theology. Considerably before Alexandria had be- 
come preeminent in philosophy, there had been 
developed at the same center the Ptolemaic theory of 
the universe, which held until the days of Copernicus. 
Other noted investigations, like those of Euclid in and scientific 

- , r A 1 • 1 • T • investigation. 

geometry, some of those of Archimedes in physics, 
of Eratosthenes in astronomy and physical geography, 
and, much later, of Diophantus in algebra, also bear 
witness to the intellectual activity of this university. 
However, much formalism and fruitless commentaries 
also emanated from here, as they did from all the other 
academic centers in Hellenistic times. 

Extension of Hellenic Culture. — It can be seen, how- 
ever, from the very extensiveness of mental activity 
after the Macedonian conquest, that the downfall of 
Greek society and national life had only prepared the 
way for a larger intellectual influence. As Alexander Heiienizing 
had extended his yoke over one Eastern country after 
another, he had carried with him all the culture of 
Greece, and within a century of his death the whole 



222 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Continuation 
of Greek 
culture by 
tiie Romans. 



Its expand- 
ing ideals. 



Orient seems to have been saturated with Greek ideas. 
These are noticeable first in externals, such as the Greek 
palaestrae, gymnasia, theaters, stadia, and baths that 
appeared in every portion of the East. But soon the 
deeper culture, — the literature, philosophy, art, and 
learning, became common throughout the Orient; and 
Greek customs, institutions, and education were in- 
grained everywhere. 

Similarly Rome, which had come somewhat into con- 
tact with Greece before conquering her, had been 
tinctured with Greek life and learning ; and, after her 
absorption of Macedon and Hellas, she fell under the 
spiritual thrall of the subjugated people. After 146 b.c. 
the history of Greek civilization and education was 
speedily so amalgamated with the Roman that it can 
scarcely be distinguished from it, and Greek thought 
was by this means further spread throughout the world. 
The Greek philosophical and rhetorical schools were 
continued in Rome, Roman youths made up a great 
body of the attendance at the universities of Athens 
and Alexandria, and the Roman emperors did much 
for the support and extension of the work in these 
institutions of learning. 

Survey of Greek Education. — But before following 
the continuation of Greek education and culture among 
the Romans, it may be well to take a bird's-eye view 
of the development of this training in the land that gave 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 223 

it birth. The history of Greek education is a record of 
ever-expanding ideals. It portrays a gradual elevation 
of the individual from bondage to nature or convention 
to freedom of expression and complete realization of 
the self, although this resulted in an extreme reaction 
toward the satisfaction of the individual without regard 
to society, and the downfall of Greek independence. 

Each stage in this educational development was 
accompanied by corresponding social and political con- 
ditions, and was characterized by definite ideals. In the 
prehistoric times the people were still somewhat bound 
by the blood-tie and the worship of gods representing 
natural forces. Their morality was that of the com- 
munity ; and the aim of education, while more elastic 
and advanced than that of primitive man, and, in some 
respects, of the barbarian peoples, was to fit the youth 
for the practical life of war and the council. 

Even during the older historic period, when the city- 
state had been generally organized, and the ownership 
of land had become the social bond, education had 
service to the state as its only purpose. While in 
Sparta this ideal was based more upon principles than 
upon precepts like those of the Orient, and at Athens 
it was felt that the best personal development would 
be of most assistance to the social whole, in the one 
state, education included practically no literary, scientific, 
or artistic development, and in the other the intellectual 



224 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

portion of the curriculum was still rather formal and 
prescribed. These older historic times also resembled 
the Orient somewhat in having a pantheon of gods, and 
rising gradually to henotheistic conceptions. 

During the * new ' period the development of Athens 
was made manifest by a greater recognition of per- 
sonality, which enlarged the culture and prosperity of 
the state. The old traditional theogony was replaced 
first by ethical interpretations of the gods, then by 
investigations into the physical nature of the universe, 
and finally by attempts at metaphysical interpretations 
of matter and mind. The old sanctions were disrupted, 
and confusion resulted. Extreme individualism became 
the order of the day, and the aim of education was to 
secure happiness for the individual, with little regard 
to the welfare of the state. This destructive influence 
of individualism, the best minds of the times, both con- 
servative and progressive, endeavored to stay, but with- 
out success. Even philosophic speculation soon be- 
came an end in itself rather than a means to social 
improvement. All efforts toward a return to the old, 
or a harmonization with the new, failed ; and the 
gradual disintegration of the state that had been going 
on was soon made manifest at the onset of Philip, The 
citizen and the man had been hopelessly sundered, and 
the aim of the philosophical and rhetorical schools that 
existed after Aristotle was purely to secure the happi- 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 225 

ness of the individual apart from society. Yet it was 
the political downfall of Greece that enabled her to 
spread her ideal of individualism throughout civilization, 
and give a broader impulse to progress. 

/ Corresponding to the enlarged ideals, the content of Advance in 
Greek education was constantly expanding, and far out- (Ij method, 
stripped that of the Orient or Judaea. At first the cur- ^""^.^3) or- 

'^^ •' ganization of 

riculum consisted simply of the attainment of skill in education, 
practical pursuits ; but gradually it came to include a 
wide range of gymnastic, literary, musical, scientific, and 
philosophical subjects without regard to their immediate 
utility, and, with Plato and Aristotle, on the strength 
of their very remoteness from concrete living. Thus 
philosophical speculation was to be engaged in for its 
own sake, and not as a means of improving society. 

The method of teaching, too, which in the early days 
was merely imitation of a living example or of an heroic 
embodiment of the proper ideals, became more elaborate 
as time went on, and made clear the reason underlying 
each concrete act and habit. Although during the pre- 
historic period there was no formal means of training 
the youth, education soon organized into regular schools 
for the different stages, and culminated in the founda- 
tion of universities. 

In this way it came about that the Greeks more than Greeic con- 
any other ancient people showed The world the advan- progress, 
tages of individualism. From their history we may 
Q 





226 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

learn that only by permitting variations in the social, as 
in the biological, world, can there be evolved and fixed 
new types that will answer to changed conditions, and 
so allow growth and progress without the intervention 
of conflict or cataclysm. Through the Greeks it has 
thus become evident that the individual should not only 
not be suppressed, consciously or unconsciously, but 
should be encouraged, if the social welfare is to be con- 
sulted and social progress to go on. From these people 
has developed the principle that the expression of the 
individual is essential to real stability and progress alike. 
As specific illustrations of this principle, Greece has 
furnished us with examples of individualism that have 
been the source of much development since. On the 
intellectual side, she first recognized that the truth 
should be sought for its own sake, and that knowledge 
should no longer be connected merely with theology 
and largely limited to the priesthood. Hence arose the 
idea of a society not controlled by a sacerdotal class, 
and to this is due the real debt that civilization owes to 
Greek science and philosophy. On the emotional side, 
through the medium of the fine arts, — sculpture, music, 
painting, and poetry, the concrete expression by the in- 
dividual of some general truth, ideal, or experience, also 
culminated with this people. From the Periclean age 
on there was permitted in these arts the highest degree 
of individualism known to the ancient world. Similarly, 



n 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 22/ 

from this country also came the first encouragement of 
volitional expression, as can be seen in her ideas of 
moral freedom and responsibility, and the search for 
principles of conduct not based on any stereotyped 
system, but upon reason. Naturally enough, all these 
forms of expression grew up in connection, on the insti- 
tutional side, with the first instances of political individ- 
uality, as found in the self-governing states of Greece. 

But this was the first extensive essay at individualism, Limitations 

1 . 1 n 1 11- 11 of the times. 

and it can hardly be supposed that it was completely 
successful. Inasmuch as the industrial class was 
allowed neither the franchise nor education, foreigners 
were despised as inferiors, and slavery was sanctioned, 
some nine-tenths of the male population of Athens must 
have been absolutely excluded from the rights of indi- 
vidualism. While women were kindly treated, they 
were always regarded as subordinate to men, and only 
those of questionable reputation were ever outside the 
household. Children had absolutely no rights of their 
own, but were held subservient to the interests of the 
state or their parents, and might be exposed when they 
were deformed or supernumerary. 

(^ Moreover, the Greeks never obtained a complete con- 
ception of personality, as, with the exception of the 
later Stoics, they nev£r..approaeh-ed'the^aogal=€oascious- 
n e s s ofg ^^e-^J^wg. Their ethics consisted mostly in a 
counterbalancing of the rights of individuals, and not the 



228 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

comparison of self with a superior self through a divine 
ideal. Consequently, the future life with them was, 
except for the great philosophers, a conception but little 
more developed than with the Orientals. 

However, it is well that all worth living for was not 
worked out at once, and that social evolution did not 
close with the Greeks. It is sufficient that one people 
and age should have given to civilization so many lofty 
ideas concerning what a free man should be and what 
education best befits him. Whatever their achievements 
may have been, the Greeks should be credited with the 
greatest impulse to progress, for they started the belief 
in the necessity of individualism, and so furnished the 
first real dynamic conception of life. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

Aristophanes. The Clouds and The Frogs. 

Aristotle. Ethics, Politics, and Poetics. 

Herodotus. Books VI and VII. 

Homer. Iliad and Odyssey. 

ISOCRATES. Against the Sophists and On the Exchange of Estates. 

Plato. Apology, Critias, Crito, Gorgias, Meno, Phcedo, Phcedrus, 

Protagoras, and Republic and Laws. 
Plutarch. Lycurgus and Moralia (especially The Nurture of 

Children) . 
Thucydides. Books II, VI, and VII. 

Xenophon. Hellenica, Cyropcedia, CEconomictis, and Memorabilia. 
Also Monroe's Source Book of the History of Education {Greek 

and Roman Period). 



SPARTA AND ATHENS (THE GREEKS) 229 



II. Authorities 

Adamson, J. E. The Theory of Education in Plato'' s Republic. 

Becker, W. A. Charicles. Scene First and Excursus on Education. 

Blumner, H. Hotfie Life of the Ancient Greeks. Chap. III. 

BosANQUET, B. The Education of the Young in Plato'' s Republic. 

Bryan, W. L. Plato the Teacher. Pp. 181-409. 

Burne;?, J. Aristotle on Education. 

Butcher, S. H. Some Aspects of Greek Genius. Pp. 1-84. 

Capes, W. W. University Life in Ancient Athens. 

Davidson, T. Education of the Greek People. 

Freeman, K. J. Schools of Hellas from too to 300 B.C. 

Grote, G. History of Greece. 

Keller, A. G. Homeric Society. 

Lane, F. H. Elementary Greek Education. 

Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Hellenic Race. 

Mahaffy, J. P. Greek Life and Thought. Chap. XIII. 

Mahaffy, J. P. Old Greek Education. 

Mahaffy, J. P. Social Life in Greece. Chaps. IX-XI. 

Monroe, P. Text-book in the History of Edjication. Chap. III. 

Nettleship, R. L. Theory of Greek Education in Plato'' s Republic. 

Seymour, T. D. Life in the Homeric Age. 

Tucker, T. G. Life in Ancient Athens. Chap. IX. 

WiLKiNS, A. S. National Education in Greece. 

Zeller, E. Plato and the Old Academy. 

Zeller, E. Socrates and the Socratic Schools. 



CHAPTER XIII 

ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 

The name of Rome is still suggestive of power and 
organization. These characteristics seem to have been 
innate ; but the significance of Roman development to 
the history of progress and education was largely due to 
the fact that, in her spread over the civilized world, the 
Eternal City amalgamated the Greek civilization with 
her own. Until then her ideals of life, while effective 
in conquest, had been narrow and little adapted to the 
development of individuality or a cosmopolitan civili- 
zation. Unconsciously realizing the need of broader 
ideals, she absorbed those of Greece. But Rome could 
not be Hellenized without making some contributions to 
the result from her own genius, and for that reason it is 
important to learn something of Roman civilization and 
education, crude as they were, before they came into 
contact with Greek culture. 
The Survey of Roman History. — At the time of its alleged 

foundation, 753 B.C., Rome probably consisted of a 
federation of Latin clans on the Palatine and adjacent 
hills. It was governed by a war-chief or king, who was 

230 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 23 1 

also judge and high priest in times of peace ; a senate, 
composed of the heads of the three hundred clans ; and 
a popular assembly, made up of all freemen capable of 
bearing arms. These came to be known as patres 
(* fathers ') or patricians, in distinction to the plebs 
('people') or plebeians, who had afterward settled in 
Rome, and were not represented in the assembly. 
(After about two hundred and fifty years the kings The Re- 
were expelled (509 e.g.) and most of their power trans- the struggle 
f erred to two consuls elected for one year and to the o t epe s. 
aristocratic senate. As the plebs had no part in the 
government, almost immediately a struggle to secure 
recognition began, and continued with little intermission 
for two and a quarter centuries. Some reforms were 
gradually secured by the plebeians, the most important 
of which was the revision and codification of the laws in 
451 and 450 B.C. by decemvirs elected for the purpose. 
The resulting code included the laws concerning prop- 
erty, political rights, and religion, that had been previ- 
ously approved by the senate and assemblies, i Until The Twelve 

Tables 

then the laws had been known and administered exclu- 
sively by the patricians, but they were at this time cut 
upon bronze tablets, set up in the market-place, and 
ever afterward known as the Twelve Tables. 

Notwithstanding this extension of popular rights, the 
senate remained the real force, as the assembly was un- 
wieldy, and the magistracies divided their powers and 



232 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Extension 
of Roman 
dominion. 



Changes in 
society, and 
establish- 
ment of the 
Empire. 



were brief of tenure. This caused the senate to feel a 
responsibility for the preservation of the state, and pro- 
duced a stability and continuity of policy that made pos- 
sible large conquests, and eventually the Empire. Even 
during her internal struggles Rome gained the hege- 
mony of the Latin tribes, and soon extended her sway 
over the rest of Italy. Then, in the second quarter of 
the third century B.C., she began to advance beyond the 
peninsula. In the three Punic wars (264-241, 218-202, 
and 149-146 B.C.), the Romans not only conquered, but 
exterminated their rival, Carthage ; they humbled 
Macedon and divided her Hellenic kingdom (197 and 
168 B.C.) ; conquered Asia Minor (190 B.C.) and Illyricum 
(167 B.C.); and reduced Greece to a province (146 b.c). 
Thus supremacy over the entire Mediterranean coun- 
try was obtained, and great social changes began to 
appear in Rome. The religious faith and the old stern 
ideals of duty and training gradually broke up, and in 
their place ideas of religion and philosophy, harmony 
and culture, were introduced from Greece. A new set 
of patricians, who obtained their position by wealth 
rather than descent, sprang up. The power of the 
senate, and with it the old purity and patriotism, van- 
ished ; and the last century of the Republic was filled 
with struggles centering about great individuals, — the 
Gracchi, Marius and Sulla, Pompey and Caesar, An- 
tony and Octavius. The old representative constitution 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 233 

could not stand the strain, and gave way. In 48 e.g. 
Julius Caesar was made perpetual dictator, and would 
have become monarch, had not his ambition been evi- 
dent and led to his assassination. The opportunity was 
thus left to his successor, Octavius ; but not until 27 b.c. 
did the latter lay aside the exceptional powers that he 
had assumed four years previously as imperator (' dicta- 
tor'), and become emperor in real earnest with the title 
of 'Augustus.' Even then he preserved all the old 
republican forms, but while magistrates continued to 
be elected, their powers and those of the senate were 
gradually assumed by the emperor. 

While Rome was undergoing such a political and Age of 
moral transition, the Greek influence had started that 
brilliant period of letters known as the Age of Augus- 
tus. This development reached its height in the last 
years of the Republic, while the old Roman ideals were 
still somewhat in force. Much literature, especially 
history and oratory, was produced. These were the 
days of Caesar, Sallust, Nepos, and Cicero. Also poetry 
was not lacking, as the philosophic verse of Lucretius, 
the lyrics and elegies of Catullus, the epic and bucolics 
of Vergil, and the odes, satires, and epistles of Horace, 
bear witness. Philosophy was likewise produced by 
Cicero, a striking work on education by Quintilian, 
and a whole encyclopaedia of knowledge by Varro. 
In fact, while the Romans could not equal their 



234 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Greek models in quality, they far surpassed them in 
quantity. 
Decline of Despite this intellectual flowering, Rome was declin-. 

ing, although for almost two centuries the decay is not 
at all apparent. On the contrary, during the reign of 
the Twelve Caesars, her empire was greatly extended ; 
while much peace and prosperity resulted from the rule 
of the Five Good Emperors, who succeeded them. To- 
ward the end of the second century a.d., however, 
political conditions became most unstable, and the 
emperors put aside all pretense of observing the con- 
stitution. Although reforms were later introduced 
by Diocletian (284-305 a.d.) and Constantine (312- 
337 A.D.) which delayed the final downfall, from this 
time on corruption was widespread. The emperor 
had become a complete despot, except as far as a large 
and extravagant army dominated even the throne; a 
bureaucracy controlled the government ; the court was 
sunk in all the luxury and vice of the Orient; and 
tax officials and governors cheated and ground down 
the provinces. Through bribery and favoritism, men 
were raised to senatorial rank. This class had now, 
of course, no political functions, although it was ex- 
empt from taxation and had many other privileges. 
It was self-indulgent, and blind to the sufferings of 
the less fortunate, and deaf to their needs. Roman 
citizenship, formerly sought so eagerly and so proudly 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 235 

claimed, now came to be regarded as a misfortune, 
and something to be avoided, if possible. Those who 
remained among the ciiriales, or ordinary class of citi- 
zens, had to support the government, municipal and 
imperial, and the army. To escape from these bur- 
dens, Romans that could not attain senatorial rank 
entered the army, the monasteries, or clerical positions 
in the Church, or enrolled themselves as serfs of some 
great estate. 

Dissolution was not long delayed. In 395 a.d. the Odoacer 

becomes 

sons of Theodosius divided the Empire into two dis- king of Italy, 
tricts, nominally for the convenience of administration, 
but really because of radical differences in type of 
civilization. The Roman or Western division came 
gradually under the control of German tribes that 
invaded it, and finally, in 476 a.d., the German leader, 
Odovaker, or Odoacer, deposed the youthful Romulus 
Augustulus, and had the imperial purple sent to the 
emperor at Constantinople as a sign of the reunion of 
the empire. Odoacer himself, however, became king 
of Italy, and the real power of the Western empire 
was thereafter in the hands of the Germans. Italy 
was never fully recovered ; and while the Eastern or 
Greek division of the empire continued until Constan- 
tinople was taken by the Turks in 1453 a.d., the days 
of ancient Rome and the Roman world had passed 
forever. 



236 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Voluntary Practical Aim of Education in Early Rome. — '^Obvi- 

subordina- i • 1 1 • i^T" 

tionofthe ously, a people With such an environment, traditions, 
the'state^' *° and hlstory as the Romans would have a very different 
set of ideals in life and education from the Greeks. 
In the early days they were animated almost entirely 
by an intense patriotism, reverence for law, and love for 
military life, and felt that each citizen was bound to 
merge his identity in that of the state. In the sur- 
render of individuality they were, to be sure, not unlike 
the Spartans, although they believed that this subordi- 
nation should be brought about voluntarily rather than 
by compulsion of law and state organization. But with 
such a love as theirs for mere material achievement, 
the Athenian ideal of a full and harmonious develop- 
ment of one's whole nature could scarcely be expected 
to make any appeal. They looked not for harmony. 
Utility, rather proportion, or grace, but for stern utility. All the 
mony or aesthetic pleasures and the finer sides of life were held 
^ea'ied^to'the ^"^ Contempt by them, and they regarded the Greek 
Roman. thinkers as mere visionaries. They showed none of the 
youth and impulsiveness that was characteristic of the 
Athenians, but were sedate, grave, stern, and serious. 
Their education was, accordingly, practical, prosaic, 
and utilitarian. 

Informal Acquisition of Abilities and Virtues. — Until 
the Greek institutions began to be adopted, there were 
practically no schools in Rome, and it was much later 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 237 

before anything approaching a public school system 
came into existence. At first, education consisted 
simply of a practical training in certain abilities and 
virtues that were bound up in the Roman ideals and 
every-day life. The chief means for obtaining this The home 

as the chief 

education was the home, which was the most important means of 

^ , , --, . . . education. 

of old Roman mstitutions. 

In striking contrast to the Spartans and theorists 
like Plato, the family was regarded By the Romans as 
almost sacred, and the power of the father {patria 
potestas) often extended beyond the maturity of the son 
or the marriage of the daughter. While the wife was 
subordinate to her husband {in maitu ems), her author- 
ity within the family was scarcely less than his, and she 
exerted a great influence upon her boys as well as upon 
her girls. The traditional picture of Cornelia, the 
mother of Tiberius and Gains Gracchus, is a graphic 
illustration of this. In early life the boys and girls 
alike were given a physical and moral training by the 
mother, but, as the boy grew older, he went more in the 
company of his father, and learned efficiency in life 
informally through his example and that of other older 
men. In a similar way the girl was trained at home by 
her mother. 

If the boy belonged to a patrician family, he might 
acquire much knowledge concerning Roman custom 
and law by seeing his father receive the clientes (* de- 



238 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Reading, 
writing, and 
literature 
were also 
learned 
through the 
family. 



pendents ') each morning and give them advice and aid. 
He could likewise learn a great deal from the older men 
at the banquets to which he went with his father.^ He 
might also receive an apprenticeship training from his 
parent or some other older man in the profession of 
soldier, advocate, or statesman. In case he was born in a 
less exalted station, he would accompany his father dur- 
ing his daily duties at the farm or the shop, and so learn 
the occupation of his parent.^ The Roman girl, whatever 
her social status, stayed at home with her mother, and 
was trained in morals and the domestic arts, especially 
spinning and weaving wool for the family clothing. 

Through their parents the children probably learned 
also whatever reading and writing would be necessary 
for them in every-day life. They also committed to 
memory stories of prominent men of the past, ballads, 
and martial and rehgious songs.^ After the codification 
of the Twelve Tables, the national laws had especially 
to be memorized by the young Romans. Physical 
training was secured mostly by games, which were 
largely in imitation of future occupations. Gymnas- 
tics were employed only as a training for war; the 

^ According to Cicero ( Tusculanae Disputationes, I, 2, 3) and Varro 
(quoted by Nonius, p. 77), at the banquets, where the boys often accom- 
panied their fathers, each guest was required to sing a song in praise of the 
old heroes. 

2 Industrial life was not, as in Greece, considered a disgrace, and did 
not deprive one of his citizenship. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 239 

Athenian ideal of athletics for the sake of grace and 
ease would have appeared absurd to the old Romans. 
The literature, music, and dancing of the Greek curric- 
ulum seemed similarly unpractical; and all humanities, 
learning, and art were scorned as subject-matter for 
education. Culture for its own sake was an ideal quite 
foreign to the Roman. 

The usages of religion at home and in public did Training was 

likewise 

much toward furnishing a training for the youth. The obtained 
faith of the Romans was of a very practical order, and j-eligifus 
consisted largely of requirements and observances, otiservances. 
Almost every activity or portion of an activity in life, 
as plowing, sowing, reaping, gathering the harvest, 
vintage, or fruits, was presided over by some deity 
whom it was necessary to propitiate when engaging 
in it. So birth, marriage, and death had special di- 
vinities, who must be worshiped at the proper times. 
Even Jupiter, their chief deity, was regarded only as a 
generalization of Roman manhood, as was Juno of the 
womanhood of Rome, while Mars, their next greatest 
god, was a personification of war. This can hardly be 
considered a lofty religion ; in fact, it was little beyond 
the ceremonies of primitive people, but it was associated 
with their morals and kept their consciences active. 
The ethical system, to be sure, was of an institutional 
sort, but it sanctified family ties, patriotism, and duty, 
and recognized the sacredness of oaths. 



240 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

The Lares \ The first contact the Roman boy had with religion 
and the Ves- was at home in the offerings to the Lares and Penates, 
tai Virgins, ^j^^ typified the unity of the family. The Lares, or 
spirits of departed ancestors, were considered the pro- 
tectors of the family estate ; while the Penates, or 
deities of the household, guarded the provisions and 
stores of the family. The shrine was at the hearth, 
where was placed the image of the chief Lar (' lord ') 
between two Penates. Sacrifices were made to these 
divinities each morning by the head of the family as 
priest, and special exercises were held upon the occa- 
sion of birthdays, marriages, the assumption of the 
toga virilis (' garb of manhood '), which marked arrival 
at maturity, and upon the return of a member of the 
family that had been long absent. Moreover, the gens 
('clan') was regarded merely as a larger family, and 
had a common altar and sacrifices ; and the state was 
similarly considered a union of clans with sacrifices 
and ceremonies in common. The priestesses known 
as the Vestal Virgins acted for the whole state. 
They guarded the public hearth, which, with its fire 
that was never allowed to die, was located in a temple 
representing an atrium, or the main room of a Roman 
house. 
Religion as Religion in early Rome was, therefore, not an individ- 
ual matter, but a means of holding together family and 
state. Originally the king was the chief priest; and. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 24 1 

after the Republic was established, a pontifex maximus 
was appointed to represent the state. All priests were, 
in general, regarded as civil functionaries rather than 
as members of a sacerdotal class, and religious observ- 
ances became a species of training in citizenship. 

Thus education in early Rome was practical, and, to a 
great extent, occupational. It was calculated to pro- 
duce efficiency as fathers, citizens, and soldiers. It 
consisted in training the youths to be healthy and 
strong in mind and body, and sedate and simple in 
their habits ; to reverence the gods, their parents, the 
laws, and the institutions ; and to be courageous in war, 
and familiar with the traditional agriculture, or the con- 
duct of some business. Hence the virtues for which Abstract 
they struggled and which constituted the abstract ma- ^hich Ro- 
terial of their training, were pietas, which included the ^^^ educa- 

®' ^ ' tion aimed. 

observance of filial duty and patriotism as well as worship 
of the gods ; constantia, or stability of character ; gravitas, 
signifying seriousness and dignity; the valorous quality 
of fortitiido or virtus, and the practical business virtue 
of priidentia} 

Imitative Method of Training. — The method of their Living ex- 
education clearly was not through instruction, but in- f(^iowed. 
formal training. Definite abiHties and virtues were , 

1 Clarke adds to this list of desirable y\x\XLt%, pudor ('modesty'); while 
Monroe \nc\vi^&% honestas ('fair dealing in all economic relations'). All 
these ideals are largely inferred from the laws on the Twelve Tables. 
R 



242 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

inculcated by means of imitation. " Long is the road 
through precepts ; short and effective, through exam- 
ples," is Seneca's epigrammatic way of approving the 
Roman method. While, however, it consisted in follow- 
ing a living example that was perfectly possible of 
attainment, and in this way gave more play to person- 
ality than the literal obedience to the sacred books of 
the Oriental training, it does not compare with the 
method of assimilation in the Athenian education, 
which came through the media of literature, music, and 
art, and permitted of so much latitude. Neither did 
the Roman method include any subsequent explanation 
of the acquisitions, as the Greek training did, and so 
lacked largely in rationality. 
Their train- Effect of the Education of Early Rome. — This edu- 
effective for cation of the early Romans produced a nation of 
but"re"uired' warriors and loyal citizens, but it inevitably tended 
the Hellenic ^q make them calculating, selfish, overbearing, cruel, 

ideals when 

the Romans and rapacious. They never possessed either lofty 

had spread 

over Italy. ideals or enthusiasm. Their training was best adapted 
to a small state, and became unsatisfactory when they 
had spread over the entire peninsula. With their 
conquest of Italy, the golden age of valor and stern 
virtue largely departed, and they began unconsciously 
to seek a more universal culture. While such a 
people regarded the Greeks as visionary, just as the 
Greeks looked upon them as barbarians, they felt 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 243 

instinctively that only by absorption of the Hellenic 
ideals could their cosmopolitan ambitions be carried 
out. On the other hand, it was through the organi- 
zation which the Romans were able to furnish, that 
the great ideals formulated by the Greeks were des- 
tined to be rendered effective and become a matter 
of value and concern to civilization ever since. 

Absorption of Greek Culture. — The gradual infiltra- The Romans 
tion of Greek culture into Rome must have begun to absorb 
very early. Even before the foundation of the city cuhure^^ 
there were Hellenic colonies in Sicily and Magna 
Graecia, and in the middle of the fifth century the 
decemvirs are said to have gone to Greece for advice 
concerning their code of laws.^ Not, however, until 
the spread of Hellenism through the conquests of 
Alexander in the latter half of the fourth century 
could the Romans have come into extensive contact 
with the Greeks. Even then, although commercial 
and diplomatic intercourse must have increased im- 
mensely, and the expanding power of Rome was 
necessitating a larger type of civilization, the Greek 
influence does not seem to have been very great. 
But after the humiliation of Carthage in the third 
century, and, still further, the downfall of Macedon 
in 168 B.C., Greek ideals must have made considerable 
headway. This is evidenced by the encouragement 
given to Crates of Mallos, a Stoic philosopher, who 

1 See p. 231. 



244 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

came to Rome in 167 B.C. as an ambassador, and, 
being detained by an accident,^ was persuaded to 
lecture to the Roman youth; and by the crowds that 
flocked to hear Carneades, the Academic, and Diony- 
sius, the Stoic, a dozen years later. Suetonius tells 
us further of a number of other Greek teachers in 
Rome about this time. It is supposed, too, that Cato's 
treatise, De Liberis Educandis ('How Children should 
be Educated '), shows that the stern old censor felt 
that the Greek innovations were getting too influen- 
tial, and thought it necessary to protest against them 
by emphasizing the old practical training for a farmer, 
warrior, orator, or advocate, 
but not until Finally, with the death of Cato in 148 b.c, and the 

the middle of 1,11. 

the second couquest of Grcccc two ycars later, the last barrier to 
tTe'oppo^r Hellenism may be considered to have been rem.oved. 
*'°" '°. Greeks came over to Rome in large numbers, and intro- 

Hellenism ° ' 

really duccd morc and more their philosophy, religion, art, 

removed. 

science, and education. It became obvious that the Ro- 
mans could not successfully rival or oppose the Greek 
culture ; and, as no other seemed cosmopolitan enough 
to suit their purpose, they began rapidly to accept it. 
There followed a rapid adaptation of Greek ideals, both 
in intellectual and pohtical life. By the beginning of the 
first century, if we may judge from Cicero's statement 
that the old training had completely disappeared during 

1 See Suetonius, De Grammaticis, II. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 245 

his early life, this transformation must have become 
complete. How thoroughly it was accomplished is well 
illustrated by comparing the old simple training advo- 
cated in the educational work of Cato with the treatise 
of Varro On the School Sciences^ which seems to have 
included all the Greek studies, — grammar, rhetoric, 
dialectic, arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy, 
as well as medicine and architecture. 

This new type of education may be said to have 
remained almost unmodified until toward the end of 
the second century a.d., when, as previously recounted,^ 
the Roman Empire began most irapidly to deteriorate. 
Hence, during the last century before Christ and the 
first two centuries of the present era, a new type of 
Hellenized education had come to prevail in Rome, in 
marked contrast to that which was indigenous. 

Schools of the Hellenized Roman Education. — The Rome had 
absorption of the Greek learning and culture was largely no schools 
aided by the fact that Rome had no distinct educational andTeadUy 
institutions of her own, except possibly the rude elemen- adopted 

^ ^ -' those of the 

tary school called the Indus, and she was, therefore, Greeks, 
the more readily influenced by those of the Greeks. A 
fairly complete and scientific account of all these schools 
of the time can be found in Quintilian's De Institutione 
Oratoria (' On the Principles of Oratory '). In spite of 
the title, this work is not limited to a description of pro- 

1 See pp. 234-235. 



246 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

fessional training, but treats all stages of education. 
This treatise, with De Grammaticis (' On the Grammar- 
ians ') and De Rhetoricis (' On the Rhetoricians ') by 
Suetonius, Cicero's De Oratore ('Concerning the Ora- 
tor'), and the vituperative Dialogus de Oratoribus 
(' Dialogue on the Orators ') by Tacitus, furnishes most 
of our information concerning the Hellenized Roman 
education, as well as a description of the educational 
institutions of the period. 
If Rome had Elementary Schools. — Elementary schools may well 
schools in have existed before the process of Hellenization even 
^hey'werr' began, but this is doubtful. The assumption is largely 
suppiemen- based upou Livy's ^ account of the seizure of Virginia 
purpose. while on her way to school. Dionysius^ similarly 
describes the occurrence, and the tradition may have had 
some foundation. If the ludus (' play ' or ' exercise ' ^), 
as the elementary school was called, did exist as far 
back as this first century of the Republic, it must have 
been intended simply to supplement the more informal 
training of the home. From the name given it, the 
early Romans would seem to have considered it some- 
thing of a diversion and not a necessary part of the 
regular education. 
Old practical Whenever they did originate, these schools probably 
gradiTaiiy taught at first Only reading, writing, and rudimentary 

1 Bk. Ill, 44. 2 Bk. XI, 24. 

'Compare * ludus gladiator ius^ ' ludus militaris,^ ' ludus Jidici mis, ^ etc. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 247 

calculation, as in the home, through the medium of became more 
historical anecdotes, ballads, religious songs, and the 
Twelve Tables. Hence they were sometimes known as 
the school of the litierator ('teacher of letters'). But, 
as the Greek influence crept in more and more, the 
literary content was somewhat extended. About the 
middle of the third century B.C., Livius Andronicus 
translated the Odyssey into Latin ; and a number of 
epics, dramas, and epigrams were composed after 
Greek models about the same time, or a little later, by 
Nsevius, Ennius, Pacuvius, Plautus, and Terence. The 
effect of this stimulation of Latin literature is seen in 
the gradual introduction of parts of these works into the 
curricula of the ludi, and the eventual displacement of 
the Twelve Tables about the beginning of the first cen- 
tury B.C. by the Latinized Odyssey of Andronicus. 

In this elementary education the Roman boys were Methods of 
taught first the names and alphabetic order of their reading, 
letters, without learning anything with regard to their ^akuifiion 
significance or even shape. This method is sensibly 
criticised by Quintilian on the ground that it " hinders 
their recognition of the letters, as, while they follow 
their memory, they do not fix their attention on the 
forms of the letters. ... It will be best for children, 
therefore, to be taught the appearances and names of 
the letters at once, as they are taught those of men." ^ 
1 Bk. I, I, 25. 



248 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

After learning their letters, the pupils seem to have 
committed all the possible combinations in the way of 
syllables, and were then taught reading and writing by 
means of exercises dictated by the master. This was 
because books were scarce and expensive ^ until toward 
the close of the second century b.c. After that time a 
large number of slaves were employed as copyists, and 
each boy was enabled to have his own book. When they 
had learned to read, special attention was given to clear 
and correct pronunciation, even to the extent of practicing 
the boys on difficult combinations of words,^ and to 
intelligent expression.^ Writing was usually taught by 
copying and tracing on wax-tablets with a stylus, while 
the hand was at first guided by the teacher.* Some- 
times bits of parchment were also used for practice. 
The calculation taught was but rudimentary, as the 
Roman numerals were very cumbrous; and it was 
learned by counting on the fingers, or by means of 
pebbles, and, after the pupils had some facility, with 
an abacus on which pebbles or sand had been placed.^ 
Eventually their sums were also worked upon wax- 
tablets. There seem to have been special teachers of 
arithmetic, who sometimes taught in schools of their 
own, although generally also in the regular ludi. 

^ Books would have been much more rare, had it not been for the speed 
with which skillful slaves were able to copy them. 

2 Quintilian, Bk. I, I, 37. 8 Quintilian, Bk, I, VIII, I. 

* Quintilian, Bk. I, I, 27. 5 Persius, i, 131. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 249 

Thus the elementary education remained somewhat Memoriter 
memoviter and imitative. The pupils generally repeated the methods 
their letters and syllables aloud until they had com- oJfhrdS-"^ 
mitted them. As a reenforcement of interest under cipime. 
these circumstances, it is not surprising that discipline 
was severe. The rod (^ferula or virgd), the lash {scu- 
tica or lorum), and the more brutal whip {Jlagellum) 
are mentioned as if in frequent use in the Roman 
schoolroom ; and throughout Latin literature school- ' 
masters have such suggestive adjectives connected with 
their names as scevus ('ferocious'), iraciindus ('iras- 
cible '), acerbus (' harsh '), clamosus (' bawling '), and 
plagosits ('fond of blows'). So Juvenal declares that 
he, like others, has * flinched from the rod ' ^ at school ; 
and a more telling method of punishment is shown in 
a fresco of Herculaneum, in which one boy appears 
on the back of another with his legs held by a third, 
while the master beats him on the bare back. While 
corporal punishment probably remained throughout 
Roman history the orthodox method of securing atten- 
tion, in the time of Augustus a milder type of extra- 
neous interest was introduced, when rewards in the 
shape of books, or even pastry, began to be offered. 
Theory, too, was in advance of practice, for Quintilian, 
the great educationalist of the times, says : "I by no 
means approve of corporal punishment, though it be 

^ " et nos ergo manum ferulse subduximus," Satires, i, 15. 



250 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



a received custom, and Chrysippus^ makes no objec- 
tion to it : first, because it is a disgrace, a punish- 
ment for slaves,^ and an affront; secondly, because, 
if a boy's disposition be so abject as not to be amended 
by reproof, he will be hardened even to stripes ; and 
lastly, because, if one who regularly exacts his tasks 
be with him, there will not be the least need of any 
such chastisement."^ 
Quaiifica- Under these conditions, elementary teaching could 

tions, re- 
muneration, hardly be recognized as a profession, and the social 

status°onhe Standing of the teacher was low. No license or quali- 

teacher. fications were required to teach in the elementary 

schools, and the remuneration was very small. The 

work was undertaken largely by slaves or freedmen. 

ihepeeda- The Greek custom of having the boy accompanied 

gogus, 

to and from school by a slave soon came to be imitated 
by the Romans. This functionary was sometimes 
called pcedagogus, but often the Latin name of pedise- 
quus ('attendant') or custos ('guardian') was used. 
The purpose, as in Athens, was to look after the 
manners and morals of the boys ; but, while the slave 
was more carefully selected than in Greece, he was 
too often one that was incapacitated by age or physical 
disability. Usually Greek or Syro-Greek slaves filled 

1 The greatest formulator of Stoic doctrine. 

2 Compare Plutarch, De Liberis Educandis, XII. 

3 Quintilian, Bk. I, III, 14. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 2$ I 

the role, and besides attending to the character of their 
charges, they often taught them a little conversational 
Greek. When their duties had been satisfactorily com- 
pleted, these slaves were not infrequently manumitted. 

These elementary schools had but poor material Material 
equipment. They were not held in regular school- ofUieschoois 
houses or in buildings intended for educational pur- was meager, 
poses, but in a single room of a building put to other 
uses, or in a sort of booth or veranda {pergula), which 
was roofed in, but open at the sides. Good illustra- 
tions of the structures were found in the frescoes at 
Pompeii. The pupils sat on the floor, or, if the school 
were on the street, upon stones, and rested their 
tablets upon their knees. The schools were quite 
bare of adornment. 

School began very early in the day. "What right School hours 
have you to disturb me, abominable schoolmaster," but^hou"^' 
cries Martial, "object abhorred by girls and boys alike.'' ^^^y^were 

'J J ° -' numerous. 

Before the crested cocks have broken silence, you be- 
gin to roar out your savage scoldings and blows." ^ 
The hours often lasted, too, until nightfall, with only 
a short intermission in the middle of the morning for 
a luncheon. There were, however, no home lessons, 
and the holidays for religious and public festivals, as 
well as every nundince (* ninth day '), or market day, 
were numerous. Probably also there was a consider- 

1 Martial, Epig., Bk. IX, LXVIII. 



252 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Secondary 
education 
was more 
literary tlian 
that of the 
ludi. , 



able break in the hottest season/ and no attendance 
during the harvest and vintage. 

Grammar Schools. — A higher training was given in 
the secondary or ' grammar ' ^ schools. These were 
undoubtedly of Greek origin, and were taught by a 
grammaticus ('grammarian') or litteratus ('liberally 
educated'). "The appellation of grammaticus^' Sue- 
tonius states, " was borrowed from the Greeks ; but 
at first the Latins called such persons litteratir And 
then he continues : " Some distinguish between a lit- 
teratus and a litterator, as the Greeks do between a 
grammaticus and a grammatistes, applying the former 
term to men of real education, the latter to those 
whose pretensions to learning are moderate." ^ Evi- 
dently the grammar schools gave more of a literary 
training than the ludi, but it is difficult to say exactly 
where the work of the litterator ended and that of 
the litteratus began. For example, the granimato- 
didascaleimt, which was opened by Spurius Carvilius* 
as early as 230 B.C., was probably not a real grammar 
school, although it may have gone somewhat beyond 
the ordinary elementary work. 

1 Martial, Epig., Bk. X, LXII. 

2 The term is used here, as in England, or during the early days of the 
American colonies, of a secondary school; and must not be confused 
with the ' grammar ' schools of the United States to-day, which constitute 
the higher elementary schools. ^ De Grammaticis, IV. 

* See Plutarch, Qucestiones RomancE, 59. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 253 

'Probably the grammar schools were differentiated Grammar 
gradually from the elementary. Grammatici, who taught Greek 
taught their pupils to speak and write Greek, began '"^''^'"^^• 
to appear. At first the language was used merely for 
practical purposes, and no idea of the literature was 
given, but it was soon extended so as to include a 
study of the greatest works, especially Homer, as in 
Greece itself. During the second century Crates^ of 
M alios gave instruction, and some twenty other gram- 
matici started schools at Rome. They embodied great 
improvements in method, and insisted upon wide learn- 
ing as necessary for the understanding of the poets. 
Up to this time secondary education had not existed 
for the masses, and even the aristocratic had to secure 
it at home through Greek tutors. 

By the beginning of the first century Latin grammar Latin 
schools began to arise, as the Latin language had be- schools. 
come well fixed, and Rome possessed considerable litera- 
ture of her own. The first was that of Lucius yElius 
Praeconinus, sometimes called Stilo ('the penman'), 
who is said to have had Cicero among his pupils. The 
young Roman attended both the Greek and the Latin 
grammar school. As regards the order of attendance, 
Quintilian says : "I prefer that a boy should begin 
with the Greek language, because he will acquire Latin, 
which is in general use, even though we tried to pre- 

1 See p. 244. 



254 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

vent him ; and because at the same time he ought first 
to be instructed in Greek learning, from which ours is 
derived. Yet I should not wish this rule to be so super- 
stitiously observed that he should for a long time speak, 
or learn, only Greek, as is the custom with most people ; 
for hence arise many faults of pronunciation, which is 
viciously adapted to foreign sounds, and also of lan- 
guage, in which, when Greek idioms have become in- 
herent by constant usage, they keep their place most 
pertinaciously, even when we speak a different tongue. 
The study of Latin ought, therefore, to follow at no 
long interval, and soon after to keep pace with the 
Greek." i 
The gram- While the head of each grammar school determined 

literary his owH curriculum, and the state did not interfere in 

these^schoois ^^y ^^y' ^^® schools were quite uniform, since the 
teachers, when not Greeks themselves, had been trained 
by them, or had their course approved by them. The 
effort of these schools was to secure a mastery of the 
language and correctness of expression through famil- 
iarity with the best Greek and Latin authors. The 
curriculum consisted, according to QuintiUan, of 'the 
art of speaking correctly,' and * the interpretation of 
the poets ' ; ^ or, in other words, of a training in gram- 
mar and literature. Grammar, which, with the practical 
Romans, composed the larger part of the course, must 

1 Bk. I, I, 12-14. Compare Bk. I, IV, I. 2 Bk. I, IV, 2. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 255 

have included all the philology that was known at the 
time, phonetic changes, and derivations, as well as drill 
on the parts of speech, inflections, syntax, and prosody, 
and practice in composition and paragraphing. 

Literary training was obtained by writing para- Exercises in 
phrases of the authors, both through abbreviation and training, 
expansion of the original; by textual and literary 
criticism ; by commenting on the authors ; and by 
exercises in diction and verse-writing. The commen- 
taries included not only interpretation of meaning, but 
explanations of the allusions to ancient mythology, re- 
ligion, history, and geography. Hence great learning 
was expected of the grammaticus, and Quintilian says :— ~ 
** It is not enough to have read the poets only. Every 
kind of writer must be studied, not only on account of 
the history contained in them, but also for the lan- 
guage; for words often derive their rights from the 
authorities that sanction them. Further, grammar can- 
not be complete without a knowledge of music, as we 
have to treat of meters and rhythms ; nor if a man is 
ignorant of the stars can he understand the poets, who, 
to pass over other points, so often use the risings and 
settings of constellations as indications of time. Nor 
can the teacher of literature be ignorant of philosophy, 
not only because of many passages in almost all poems 
derived from a close and exact knowledge of the prob- 
lems of nature, but also because of the poems of Em- 



256 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Authors 
read. 



Text-books 
on grammar. 



pedocles in Greek, and Varro and Lucretius in Latin, 
who have taught the doctrines of philosophy through 
verse." ^ 

The authors that furnished the material for literary- 
criticism were mostly poets. Cicero tells us: "We 
(Romans), who have all our learning from Greece, read 
and learn these works of theirs {i.e. the poets) from 
our childhood ; and look on this as a liberal and learned 
education." ^ Homer was generally read for the in- 
spiration of his theme and the loftiness of his style. 
Hesiod, with his prudential ethics and practical sense, 
naturally appealed to the Romans, while various dram- 
atists, and epic and lyric writers, are advised by Quin- 
tilian.^ Among the Latin poets Vergil stood first. 
Shortly after his death, his works were introduced into 
the curriculum, and soon took the place of the Ho- 
meric poems. During the Empire there was a reaction 
against the old poets, and Horace, Lucan, and Statins 
were given prominent places in the curriculum of the 
grammar schools. 

Although there early appeared Latin treatises on 
grammar for schools, such as those of Praeconinus and 
Lucilius, no text-books suited to pupils existed through- 
out the Republic. Consequently, some Greek text, es- 
pecially that of Dionysius of Thrace, was adopted by 

1 Bk. I, IV, 4. 2 fjtsc. Disp., Bk. II, XI, 27. 

8Bk. I, VIII, 5-1 1. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 257 

the grammaticus. The first Latin grammar for schools 
must have appeared early in the first century of the 
Christian era. It was written by Palasmon, the teacher 
of Quintilian, who probably embodied the substance of 
it in his own treatise. After this many other texts 
were produced. 

Toward the close of the Republic there was a tend- Encroach- 
ency to keep the boys longer in the grammar schools grammar 
and encroach upon the field of the higher training of the t^e r£ori*cTi 
rhetorical schools by exercising them in declamation on curriculum, 
ethical and descriptive topics. Quintilian^ complains 
of this as bad pedagogy, since the pupils undertook ora- 
tory before they were ready, and neglected the more 
solid preparation of linguistic and literary drill for the 
sake of a precocious display. Their productions, how- 
ever, were often fairly good, as a definite method of 
writing the declamations was laid down for them. It 
consisted of some seven steps, beginning with a praise 
of the writer or man of prominence who had furnished 
the theme, and closing with a hortatory peroration. 
vThe grammar schools included other studies from the other studies 
Greek learning, but gave them a practical bearing. As secondary 
arithmetic had previously been studied to enable them curriculum, 
to make business calculations, now geometry was learned 
for the sake of mensuration, and astronomy to enable 
them to form a calendar. A crude geography was also 

1 Bk. I, I, 24-25. 



258 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

sometimes studied for practical purposes. Likewise, 
music was taken up from the standpoint of rhythm and 
meter, to secure the proper intonation in oratory. It 
was not studied as an art or for playing an instrument, 
but for chanting the simple melodies of the Roman re- 
ligion. For a long time there was no training in gym- 
nastics, as this was believed to contribute to idleness and 
immorality,^ and encroach upon one's time and strength ;2 
and, until the time of Nero, no athletic festivals were 
held. Some exercises for the sake of health and 
strength were at length added to the curriculum, but 
they were adapted mostly to military training. Dancing 
was more violently opposed, and even Cicero implies 
that he who dances must be either crazy or drunk.^ In 
spite of this criticism, it is probable that dancing appealed 
to the youth and was found useful as a means of exercise 
and improvement of the carriage. Thus, with the ex- 
ception of the literary training, most of the subjects in 
secondary education were studied superficially and en- 
tirely from a utilitarian standpoint 

Method of The attitude of the pupils in learning the literary sub- 

study and . . . _,, , _ 

discipline, jects was quite passive. The passages were read first 

by the teacher and then by the pupils. The teacher 

probably marked the ictus in every foot of the verse by 

^ Cicero, De Republica, IV, 4. 2 Seneca, Epistulae, XV. 

2 "Nemo enim fere saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit." See Cicero, Pro 
Murena, VI, 13. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 259 

snapping his iingers or stamping his foot. After the 
reading an interpretation was given, which the pupil was 
obliged to take down verbatim in his note-book. Expla- 
nations, often trivial and pedantic, of all incidents and 
allusions were made by the teacher, and the text and 
style were critically examined. A commentary of Pris- 
cian on the first dozen lines of Vergil's ^neid, which is 
still extant, shows rather accurately in what this literary 
training must have consisted. With such a burden of 
memorizing, it is not surprising that the brutal discipline 
of the elementary schools was largely continued in the 
secondary. 

The accommodations for the grammar schools, how- Material 
ever, were much superior to those of the elementary. 
The schoolhouses were generally additions to larger 
buildings, and opened on the street. They were fur- 
nished with benches for the pupils and a higher seat for 
the teacher, and were often adorned with paintings and 
sculpture, especially portraits or busts of authors and 
scenes from history or mythology. 

Rhetorical Schools. — About the time of the conquest Deveiop- 
of Greece by Rome, a higher education through the Greek and 
foundation of schools of rhetoric or oratory began to i^ai'schooir" 
grow up. This completed the Hellenization of the m spite of 

opposition. 

Roman training. Suetonius says: '! Rhetoric also, as 
well as grammar, was not introduced amongst us till 
a late period, and with still more difficulty, inasmuch 



260 • A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

as we find that, at times, the practice of it was even 
prohibited. In order to leave no doubt of this, I will 
subjoin an ancient decree of the senate as well as an 
edict of the censors." ^ Then he gives the senatorial 
decree of i6i b.c, which banished all Greek philoso- 
phers and rhetoricians, and the edict of Gnasus Domitius 
.^nobarbus and Lucius Licinius Crassus, issued in 
92 B.C., disapproving of the schools of the Latin 
rhetoricians. Rhetoric would thus seem to have been 
imported during the second century to Roman soil from 
the Greek rhetorical schools, which had resulted^ from 
the sophistic training. It " gradually manifested itself 
to be a useful and honorable study, and many persons 
devoted themselves to it both as a means of defense 
and of acquiring a reputation." ^ The first Roman to 
attain distinction from public speaking through the 
study of rhetoric was Porcina, who flourished during 
the latter half of the second century and was looked 
to as a model by the Gracchi. As also indicated in 
the passage from Suetonius, Latin rhetorical schools, 
such as those of Plotius and Blandus, appeared during 
the first century b.c. as a sort of continuation of the 
declamation in the grammar schools, but were shallow 
as compared with those of the Greeks. In spite of this 
and the disapproval of the censors, the movement sur- 
vived, although rhetorical schools of either sort were not 

^ De Rhdoricis,\. * See 217-218. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 261 

at all common until the time of the Empire. Only the 
first families availed themselves of this education, and 
the schools were patronized mostly by those who intended 
to become orators and statesmen. 

But while these schools afforded a legal and forensic Cultural as 
training, and were decidedly professional as compared fessionai 
with the cultural work of the grammar schools, they *^°"'^"*- 
were by no means narrow, if one may judge from 
the descriptions of Cicero and Quintilian.^ These au- 
thors hold that the orator is not to be merely a pleader 
at the bar, but should take an interest in all public 
matters. Fluency, eloquence, and an acquaintance with 
law and history will not suffice for him ; he must have 
these qualifications, but he must also possess wide learn- 
ing, grace, and culture, a knowledge of human emotions, 
good judgment, a good memory, and, above all, virtue. 
He is simply a philosopher, who, through preference 
and special fitness, is engaged in practical affairs. So 
these schools of rhetoric, besides a knowledge of the 
technique of oratory, furnished a linguistic, literary, and 
scientific education of broad scope, and even a training 
in philosophy, especially Stoicism. They thus covered 
all the subjects later included under the Seven Liberal 
Arts, — grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic, and music, arith- 
metic, geometry, and astronomy, although, as would be 

1 See Cicero, De Oratore, Bk. I, V-VI, and XIV; Quintilian, Bk. II, 
XXI, and Bk. XII, I. 



262 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



expe(j:ted, these studies were all given something of a 
practical turn. Music, Quintilian shows, will help the 
orator with his gestures, collocation of words, and in- 
flections of the voice ; geometry aids him to determine 
boundaries in lawsuits; and dialectic assists him in 
argument and the detection of fallacies ; while as- 
tronomy enables him to understand the movement 
of the heavenly bodies, and not be misled by super- 
stition.^ 

From Cicero ^ we may gather something of the method 
employed in the technical training in rhetoric. It seems 
to have consisted first of exercises in declamation on 
ethical and political subjects. These themes were in- 
tended to bring out the fine distinctions of which Roman 
law and ethics were capable, and much ingenuity was 
shown in inventing instances where legal or moral 
principles would come in conflict. After this, more 
advanced work, accompanied by lectures, was engaged 
in. The students were given practice in three types of 
speeches : deliberative, which considered what ought 
to be done under given circumstances; judicial, in which 
the pupil assumed the role of an advocate for the plain- 
tiff or defendant; and panegyric, in praise or censure 
of some one. Attention was given to all the various 
factors in making a successful oration : the matter ; 

^ See Quintilian, Bk. I, X, 22, 37, and 46. 
2 De Oratore, Bk. I, XXXI-XXXIV. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 263 

arrangement into exordium, statement, argument, ampli- 
fication, and rebuttal; the style; accuracy in memoriz- 
ing; and dignified and graceful delivery. 

The Roman youth that received a rhetorical educa- Age for 

rhetorical 

tion usually began when he laid aside his boyhood training, 
dress, the toga prcBtexta, to assume the garb of man- 
hood, or toga virilis, that is, at about the age of sixteen. 
The length of time that he studied depended largely 
upon his ability and the school to which he went, but 
it seems to have been usually a matter of two or three 
years. 

Education beyond the Rhetorical Schools. — HEsfdes Some of 
the training of the rhetorical school, many of the wealthy families kept 
homes of Rome had a philosopher attached, with whom ^J'tra^inThelr 
the youth of the family came in contact and learned y°^*- 
much informally while still in school. Moreover, when 
the young man had completed his course at a rhetorical 
school, he might, if he were very ambitious, go to the 
university at Athens, Alexandria, or Rhodes. Soon 
other universities sprang up at Rome and elsewhere University 
throughout the Empire. Alexandria had a second 
museum added to it by Claudius in 54 a.d. In 408 
A.D. Theodosius II increased the number of professors 
and strengthened the university at Constantinople, which 
was known as the Capitolium. In Asia Minor a num- 
ber of universities arose. The Greek influence caused 
most of these institutions to be located in the East, but 



264 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the flourishing university at Massilia ^ was an exception 
to the rule. 
Origin and Many of these Roman universities found their nucleus, 

work of the ,.,.,. ^ , ... 

universities, somcwhat as Alexandria did, in one of the many libraries 
that were started with books brought from the sacking 
of Greece and Asia Minor, and were added to after the 
Roman literature itself began to come to its zenith. 
The university of Rome was one of these. It sprang 
from a library founded by Vespasian in the Temple of 
Peace about 75 a.d., and half a century later, through 
the addition of professors and a splendid building, 
Hadrian organized it into the Athencsum. Here at first 
courses in liberal arts, especially grammar and rhetoric, 
were given; and, somewhat later, professional work in 
law, medicine, architecture, and mechanics was added. 
There was, however, no effort at philosophic speculation 
or scientific investigation. 

Women were Educatlon of Women. — After the early days women 

often given . i i r ti t r •, i 

considerable wcre givcu a great deal of liberty and often had con- 
aitho'ugh siderable culture. The girls probably attended the same 
they had elementary schools as the boys. Women were not, how- 

not equal •' •' 

privileges. evcr, able to obtain equal opportunities with men, and 
generally had to secure any higher training through 
tutors at home, or possibly, after marriage, from their 
husbands. Nevertheless, the attitude of the times was 
very liberal. Musonius, who wrote in Greek upon edu- 

1 Now Marseilles. 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 265 

cation, and fragments of whose work appear in the Recommen- 

... rr>i 1 -I- •! 1 dations of 

A?ithology of Stobseus, took special interest in the edu- Musonius. 
cation of women, as the following quotation shows : — 

" The philosopher (after referring to the analogy fur- 
nished by the identical training received by both the 
males and females of two of the species of animals em- 
ployed by men to render them active service, — horses 
and dogs) asks whether men ought to receive any 
special education and training superior to those allowed 
to women, as if both alike should not acquire the same 
virtues, or if it is possible for the two sexes to attain the 
same virtues other than by the same education, ... If 
any one asks me what science is to preside over this in- 
struction, I shall reply that, as without philosophy no man 
can be rightly instructed, so neither can any woman." 

Education Subsidized and Systematized. — Thus through 
the gradual adoption of the institutions of the Greeks, 
Roman education became thoroughly Hellenized. Al- 
though all the types of schools spread everywhere 
throughout the empire, there was no real public school 
system, except as the government gradually came to 
subsidize the schools and so acquire control. This was imperial 
accomplished in various ways, — by contributing to schools 
school support, paying the salaries of certain teachers *^^°^f^ 
or granting them special privileges and distinctions, or scholarships, 

and privi- 

offering scholarships to a given number of pupils. Thus leges. 
Julius Caesar, who intended to inaugurate a universal 



266 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

empire, granted the franchise to all foreign teachers al- 
ready in Rome, and offered it to any others who should 
come; and Augustus, in banishing foreigners from 
Rome, made an exception in favor of teachers. Vespa- 
sian (70-79 A.D.), however, established the first real 
I endowment of education by paying salaries of one hun- 
( dred sestertia (^4000) from the imperial treasury to 
each Greek rhetorician in Rome, Quintilian probably 
being the first to receive the benefit. 

Throughout the second century, this policy was con- 
tinued, especially by Hadrian; extended by Antoninus 
Pius to the provinces; and enlarged by Marcus Aurelius, 
who, in addition, granted a public salary to two rhetori- 
cians and two teachers of philosophy in each of the four 
schools at Athens. Trajan also gave scholarships to five 
thousand children. Besides paying salaries, Antoninus 
Pius exempted from taxation, both imperial and munici- 
pal, and from army service and support of the soldiery 
a given number of philosophers, rhetoricians, and gram- 
marians in all cities, somewhat in accordance with their 
size. 

Even the later emperors paid great attention to the 
extension of educational privileges. During the reign 
of Alexander Severus (222-235 a.d.) many schools and 
scholarships were founded. Constantine in three differ- 
ent decrees (321-333 a.d.) extended considerably the 
privileges of teachers, and thereby laid the foundation 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 267 

for the special rights afterward granted the clergy. 
Gratian (378-383 a.d.) went still further in subsidizing 
education, and offered to give a like amount with each 
municipality toward the salaries of the grammarians 
and rhetoricians in each of the seventeen capitals. His 
coadjutor and successor, Theodosius, gave the profession 
its final advancement by raising the most distinguished 
of the rhetoricians to the rank of count. 
( In this way the control of the schools came more Control of 

, . ,,,-,. . , the schools 

and more into the hands of the imperial government, by the 
Julian the Apostate, shortly after becoming emperor (361 ®™p^''°''* 
A.D.), demanded the right to pass upon all teachers ; and 
it was at length promulgated by Theodosius and Valen- 
tinian in 425 a.d. that the emperor was the sole authority 
entitled to establish schools, and that a penalty would 
be exacted from any one else assuming this prerogative. 

Decay of Education. — Before this control had been Anachro- 
established, however, Roman education had greatly dition of 
deteriorated. With the political and moral decay of ®^"'=^*^°'^- 
the empire previously ^ described, education declined 
correspondingly. It became a mere form and mark 
of the aristocracy. It was a necessary qualification 
for entering the senatorial class, which was now com- 
posed- mostly of the favorites of the emperor or of 
merely wealthy men. Thus education had lost its real 
purpose. There was no longer any occasion for a train- 
ing in oratory, as the emperor controlled all the func- 

1 See pp. 234-235. 



268 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

tions of government and law; and, while the schools 
still existed and taught oratory, it was simply as a 
survival, and they were not intended to furnish a train- 
ing of any value in life. 

(The careful grammatical and literary preparation 
recommended by Quintilian was more and more shirked. 
Philosophy and law were no longer taught, and most of 
the time was spent upon rhetoric, with a modicum of 
grammar. Vergil was almost the only author read, 
and his work was analyzed and dissected rather than 
appreciated. Rhetoric no longer dealt with real life, 
but aimed at an exhibition in the theater or before a 
private audience, and consisted of an abundant vocabu- 
lary, superficiality, and glibness. While the gram- 
marians and rhetoricians were still held in high esteem, 
they contented themselves with mere display. Wander- 
ing lecturers, similar to the sophists, went from town to 
town, but more for the purpose of entertaining than 
teaching, and people rushed to hear them declaim, 
much as moderns flock to hear a popular preacher. 
Glittering phrases, epigrams, and other artificialities 
took the place of instruction and argument. 
Predomi- Gradually the Christian schools combined with the 

nance of the , , ^ t-. • • -i n i i • 

Christian old Graeco-Koman trammg, and eventually replaced it. 
After the fourth century, ecclesiastical education through 
the episcopal and monastic schools became predominant ; 
and by the middle of the sixth century the monasteries 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 269 

were in full control of the situation, and the period 
we know as the Middle Ages was well under way. 

Effect of Roman Education upon Civilization. — But 
the Roman education and civilization had left their im- 
press upon the world. This was accomplished by the Combination 

r 1 n, .of Roman 

practical nature of the Roman, and the amalgamation practicality 
of this characteristic with the ideals and culture of ^^^jg ^^^ 
the Greeks. The Romans were originally trained in 
certain -definite duties and virtues through an informal 
and imitative education in the home and the activities of 
life; but when they had become Hellenized and had 
absorbed the Greek educational institutions, they in 
turn modified the great ideals presented to the world 
by the Greeks, and through their practicality supplied 
the means of carrying out those ends. 

The Hellenic concepts of intellectual power and and the 

1 • • 1 1 T • 1 • 1 1 r 1 effect upon 

aesthetic enjoyment and the Jewish ideal of moral progress. 
force were made concrete and furnished with institu- 
tions that enabled them to be useful to civilization and 
progress. Through them the Greek notion of a feder- 
ated government was expanded into that of a universal 
empire, and the organization that made this possible was 
elaborated. This practical concept has been influential 
throughout the world's history, as can easily be seen 
from the idea of a reunited empire held by Charle- 
magne, Otto, and Napoleon, and reflected in the titles 
of the German and Russian monarchs to-day. Similarly, 



270 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

the concept of law originating with the Greek philoso- 
phers became in the hands of the Romans a great 
system of principles that underlies and guides all 
our present civilization. Roman jurisprudence is the 
foundation of modern law everywhere. Finally, it was 
by means of the Roman genius for organization that a de- 
spised religious sect was institutionalized and expanded 
into the position of the greatest world religion. Through 
the administrative power of Rome, Christianity became 
the means of saving Europe from sinking into barbarism, 
and ever since it has been the schoolmaster of civilization. 
So if it be true that Judaism furnished the world with 
its most exalted religious ideals, and from Hellenism 
came our most striking intellectual and aesthetic con- 
cepts, it is as worthy of note that the institutions for 
realizing these ideals originated with Rome. Despite 
the economic and moral decay and the political dis- 
solution that followed closely upon the absorption of 
Hellenism and the growth of universal empire, Rome's 
ideals and social products still stand as monuments in 
the world's civilization. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

Scattered references to education during the different periods 
appear throughout the Roman writers, but more extended descrip- 
tions are found in the following works : — 



ROME AND THE ROMAN WORLD 2/1 

AuRELius, Marcus. Meditationes. 

Cicero. De OfficUs, De Oratore, De Repiiblica, Pro Archia, and 
Disputationes TuscidaticB. 

Martial. Epigrammaton, IV, IX, X, and XII. 

Musonius. See Anthologion of Stobaeus. 

Pliny. Epistulae. 

OuiNTiLiAN. De Institutione Oratoria. 

Seneca. Epistulae Morales. 

Suetonius. Divus Augusttis, De Grammaticis, and De Rhetoricis. 

Tacitus. Agricola, Anfiales, and especially Dialogus de Ora- 
toribus. 

The Twelve Tables afford an idea of the content of early edu- 
cation. 

Monroe's Source Book of the History of Education {Greek and 
Roman Period) should be consulted. 

II. Authorities 

Becker, W. A. Gallus. Scene First and Excursus on Education. 

Clarke, G. Educatiojt of Children at Rome. 

Davidson, T. Aristotle. Bk. IV, Chap. II. 

Davidson, T. Education of the Greek People. Chap. IX. 

Dill, S. Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius. 

D ILL, S . Rotnan Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire. 

Jullien, E. Les Professeurs de Litterature dans Vancienne Rome. 

Laurie, S. S. Pre-Christian Education. The Aryan Races (D). 

Mahaffy, J. P. The Greek World under Roman Survey. 

Marquardt, J. Das Privatleben der Romer. 

Mommsen, T. The History of Rome. 

Monroe, P. Text-bookin the History of Education. Chap. IV. 

Sandys, J. E. A History of Classical Scholarship, Vol. I (second 

edition). 
Thomas, E. Roman Life utider the Ccesars. Chaps. IX-XI. 
WiLKiNS, A. S. Roman Education. 



CHAPTER XIV 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 



With these 
peoples 
began a con- 
sideration 
for ideals 
and the 
future, and 
so for indi- 
vidualism, 



Beginnings of Individualism among the Jews, Greeks, 
and Romans. — The three great peoples of antiquity, 
the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, through their civiliza- 
tion and educational practice, jointly made a large 
contribution to progress. With each are evident the 
beginnings of a consideration of the future rather than 
of the past, and an attempt to develop humanity in 
accordance with ideals rather than traditions. Among 
the Jews the world's loftiest conceptions of religion, and 
of moral personality and responsibility, had their begin- 
ning ; out of Hellenism have developed the most ad- 
vanced intellectual and aesthetic ideas that civilization 
has known; while the means of rendering all these 
ideals practical and of carrying them into effect sprang 
largely from the organizing power of the Romans. 
Through these peoples the value of the individual to 
progress became evident for the first time in history, 
and no longer was he held absolutely subservient to the 
social whole. From this time on society can no longer 
be described as entirely in bondage to nature or con- 
vention, or as practically tied to the present or the past. 

272 



come uni- 
versal. 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 273 

The emphasis upon individuality and the future has 
begun. 

Naturally these first essays were not completely sue- but it 
cessful. With the Athenians and the Romans, never 
more than one tenth of the entire population at best 
could obtain the advantages that paved the way to indi- 
viduality in thought and conduct; and, while Judaea 
was quite democratic in theory, the proportion of those 
eligible among her people was not much larger, and the 
magnitude of her development was obscured by cere- 
monial and formalism. Each of these peoples, too, 
possessed its own narrow group of traditions, customs, 
and laws, its own language, and its own gods. While 
some prophets and philosophers ^ may have caught a 
vision of the brotherhood of man and the immanence 
of the divine, such an idea was regarded largely as a 
dream. With each of the three, all other peoples were 
considered inferior and beyond the pale. Slavery was 
widely sanctioned, and, although some possibility of 
manumission was believed in, it was held that always 
some people are by nature slaves. Not only were the 
masses and foreigners disregarded or enslaved ; but 
women, while sometimes kindly treated, were generally 
regarded as man's subordinates, and among the Greeks 

1 Especially Socrates, in whose teachings, whether he was conscious of 
it or not, was implicit the conception of the brotherhood of man. See 
Davidson, The Education of the Greek People, p. 118. 
T 



274 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



Christianity 
recognized 
the brother- 
hood of 
man, and 
gave to 
women and 
children 
their rights, 
and thus 
made indi- 
viduahsm 
universal. 



and Romans it was held that children might be slain or 
exposed to die at the convenience of their parents or 
the state. 

Larger Ideals of Christianity. — The world had need 
of a wider view and a larger bond of unity. Judaea, 
Greece, and Rome had to pause after establishing the 
beginnings of individualism and progress. But new 
ideals were destined to be found in the principles of 
Christ, which were first promulgated about this time in 
an obscure corner of the Roman Empire. These teach- 
ings had their roots in Jewish soil ; they recognized the 
one living God spoken of by the prophets, the faith in 
humanity, and the joy of heart common to the Israel- 
ites ; but they tended to strip away the ceremonialism 
and peculiar observances as unessential, and inculcated 
a broader interpretation of humanity. Without pretense 
at philosophic statement, Jesus suggested the father- 
hood of God as the basis of human unity. As a corol- 
lary to this lofty conception, with its incumbent ideals 
of gratitude and love, he taught the brotherhood of all 
mankind. " These things I command you," said he, 
" that ye love one another." " Therefore, all things 
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye 
even so to them." This law was destined to obliterate 
the distinction between bond and free, rich and poor, 
and under it not only could no social classes consist- 
ently exist within a people, but national lines themselves 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 275 

would eventually be considered artificial. Similarly, 
woman would have to be regarded as one half of man- 
kind, and become the companion and equal of man. 
The sympathetic attitude of the Master toward women, 
and the respect that he felt should be shown them, 
appear at all times in his ministry. Again, to those 
moved by the spirit of Christ, it seemed no longer 
possible that children should be exposed, slain, or 
brutally treated, but that they should be considered 
as the especial gift of God. He expressly declared: 
f^t were better for him that a millstone were hanged 
f about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he 
\ should offend one of these little ones." Such is essen- 
tial Christianity, While it was not altogether under- 
stood by the primitive Christians, and since their day 
has often been overlaid with trappings and subject to 
misconception, through it the road to universal indi- 
vidualism was opened, and full recognition given to 
personality and the right and need of every one to 
work out his own salvation. 

Vicious Conditions That Christianity Needed to Re- The Roman 
form. — The actual social conditions amid which the re- 
ligion of Christ was born, and which it was destined to 
reform, were most degraded. As a result of the transi- *e Empire, 

when Rome 

tion through which it was passing, the Roman world became 
appears ^ to have been sunk in vice and corruption, espe- immoral. 

1 See pp. 234-235. 



virtues were 
civic, and 
failed with 
the rise of 



2/6 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

cially at its capital. The virtues of the Romans had been 
civic for the most part, and consisted in patriotism, 
bravery, and service to the state, and even these ideals 
largely disappeared with the development of the Empire. 
There was not much incentive to patriotic service, where 
the whole power of government was vested in the em- 
peror, and the state existed only as a means of collecting 
taxes ; while the employment of mercenaries prevented 
the rise of valor and the willingness to sacrifice one's self 
for the country. The superabundance of slaves shut the 
citizens out from industrial pursuits, and enabled them 
to be supplied in their idleness with food and amuse- 
ment. The people naturally fell more and more into 
vicious tastes and habits, especially as the example 
set them by the upper classes was most depraved. 
Divorce became frequent and common to all strata of 
society ; children were destroyed by exposure and infan- 
ticide ; public ceremonials of the most immoral sort, 
together with the most disgusting wantonness in private, 
were practiced under the guise of religion ; while at reg- 
ular intervals occurred the bloodiest of gladiatorial shows. 
Other phi- To chcck this widespread depravity, the old state re- 

and religions Hgion of the Romans, with its system of legal, institu- 
tional, and parental duties, could no longer prove effect- 
ive. Nor could the Greek thought itself, even the 
highest, such as Aristotle's 'well-being' and 'well-doing,' 
accomplish much, since it was too intellectual and philo- 



were in- 
effective in 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 2// 

sophic to make the necessary emotional appeal. On 
the other hand, the Eastern religions, which Rome had 
admitted in her easy-going skepticism, were productive 
of anything but good results. Most of them appealed 
only to the worst instincts and passions; and while the 
Persian and Egyptian doctrines, which had become more 
rational through combination with Greek philosophy, 
met with many converts, they were too gloomy and 
bizarre for general acceptance. Judaism, however, es- 
pecially in the Hellenized form given it by Philo,^ cap- 
tured a large number of proselytes; and, although it was 
somewhat impaired as a religion by its philosophic 
development, must have accomplished considerable good. 
And the Romans themselves must instinctively have felt 
the need of some regenerating force, as is shown by the 
developments of Stoicism worked out by Seneca, Epic- 
tetus, and Marcus Aurelius, in which conscience and 
duty were almost deified. While these concepts also 
seemed too cold and dead, and could reach only a lim- 
ited class of people, about the time of Christ they had 
produced a marked effect ; and, together with Judaism, 
they enabled Christianity to enter the Roman world 
upon a rising tide in morals, and to find a receptive 
environment. 



Nevertheless, none of these forces could have accom- but Chris- 
ul reform in Roma: 

^ See footnote on p. 135. 



plished a successful reform in Roman society, without a more 



2/8 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



universal 
appeal. 



The earliest 
education for 
Christians 
consisted in 
their ' other- 
worldly ' 
manner of 
living. 



the stimulus and wider appeal of the Christian teachings. 
Christianity was the ethical and universal religion needed 
as a leaven. Its truths were based on faith rather than 
understanding, and its appeal was to the instinctive 
promptings and emotions rather than to the intellect. 
It appealed to sympathy for one's fellow-man and the 
love of an ideal character, as well as to the desire to 
enter the kingdom, and the emotion of fear lest one miss 
this everlasting happiness. This made it democratic, 
and enabled it to reach the masses as the more philo- 
sophic system of ethics and the various national re- 
ligions could not, for everybody can feel and have faith, 
even where he cannot understand. It could be grasped 
and applied to the conduct of all, and it found a large 
work ready for it. 

The Earliest Christian Education. — ^^Thus it came 
about that, while the earliest Christians were without 
schools of their own and were largely illiterate, their 
religion itself served as an education. They were 
practically deprived of intellectual development, but 
they received moral training of a very high order. 
The very dishonor and unpopularity of the Christian 
religion, and the segregation of their church member- 
ship, gave the Christian life itself all the effect of a 
species of school. 

The early Christians showed an extreme reaction to 
the vicious morals of the time, and endeavored to 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 279 

cultivate in their life the higher ideals that they 
believed to be inculcated by the teachings of Christ. 
They had gathered from the statements of the Master 
that he would soon return and the world would come 
to an end, and they concerned themselves almost 
entirely with a preparation for * Jerusalem the golden ' 
and the 'life everlasting.' They had little or no 
regard for the things of this world. Mundane pleas- 
ures and satisfactions were to be sacrificed for the 
good of their souls. Hence the ideal of this most 
primitive education through the Christian life may 
be described as 'otherworldly.' 

The Catechumenal Schools. — When, however, the The same 
Church began to extend itself rapidly, it seemed neces- maintained 
sary to insist upon some sort of instruction as prelimi- ^^J^^^^ f^j. 

nary to Church -membership. It was also deemed catechu- 
mens, which 
wise to fix a period of probation after the profession were soon 

instituted, 

of one's faith in Christ, in order that mformers might 
not be admitted to the services, or the Church dis- 
graced by apostasy or the lapses of those who had 
not well considered the step. These demands were 
met by the gradual institution of popular instruction 
in Christian principles for the Jewish and pagan 
proselytes, who were known as catechtimenoi (' those 
caused to hear'). While some effort was made to 
lift the pupils of these catechumenal schools from the 
bondage of ignorance, the catechumen was primarily 



280 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



and which 
became the 
prototype of 
parochial 
schools. 



trained in those things which were needed for his soul's 
salvation. Thus the ideal of Christian education re- 
mained prevailingly 'otherworldly.' 

The course in the catechumenal schools was for 
only two years at first, according to Origen ; but, as 
the children of behevers also came to be trained in 
this way, it was extended to four. The catechumens 
themselves were grouped into four grades: (i) those 
who had just expressed their desire to enter the Church; 

(2) audientes (* hearers '), who were admitted to part 
of the worship, but had to withdraw after the read- 
ing of stated passages and the sermon or exhortation ; 

(3) genuflect entes ('those bending the knee'), who 
joined in the prayers of the faithful; and (4) electi, 
who were ready for baptism and full communion 
upon the next occasion of admission. As time went 
on, there was a general tendency to remain in the 
body of catechumens indefinitely, in order that one 
might not be guilty of sinning after entrance upon 
Christian life, and to be baptized, and so purified 
from transgression, only shortly before death. Some 
of the most famous men of the Church were them- 
selves guilty of this abuse, but it was finally stopped. 

The instruction of the catechumens was carried on in 
the portico or some special portion of each church ; and 
consisted in moral and religious teachings, the reading, 
writing, and memorizing of the Scriptures, together with 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 281 

some training in early psalmody. The meetings in the 
church were held several times a week, or even every 
day, and were supplemented by the strict religious and 
moral training of the home. The teachers were known 
as catechists, and were generally the most able men in 
the Church. This catechumenal instruction became the 
forerunner of the /(^r<?^/zm/(' parish') schools of to-day. 

Amalgamation of Christianity with Graeco-Roman The Gr^co- 
Culture. — But while the Christian ideals and training were schools were, 
developing and crystallizing, the Greek philosophy in its hand^ris-^"^ 
Roman form was being continued and expanded. This to^ratic and 

' worldly.' 

movement has been seen to be very different from early 
Christianity in its general purpose. It concerned itself 
chiefly with life in this world. The problem that it 
attempted to solve was how one should live so as to get 
the most satisfaction out of life. It had culminated in 
philosophy and given birth to truths based upon reason. 
Because only a few could understand it, or possessed 
the leisure to seek * well-being ' consciously, the Graeco- 
Roman movement, as previously noted, was as essen- 
tially aristocratic as the Christian was democratic ; and, 
since they were organized so as to prepare for the 
enjoyment of this life, the Hellenized Roman schools 
may be accounted as ' worldly ' as the Christian were 
* otherworldly ' in their aim. 

A general feeling of the marked difference in purpose 
and organization between Christianity and the contempo- 



\. 



282 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



The Greek 
Fathers at 
first favored 
Greek phi- 
losophy, 



and there was 
a tendency 
for Chris- 
tianity to 
tinite with it. 



The Apolo- 
gists. 



raneous Graeco-Roman culture was destined to cause an 
opposition to the pagan learning to spring up among the 
Christians, and to produce a conflict between ideals in 
the Christian schools themselves. For some time, how- 
ever, this is scarcely noticeable, especially in the Eastern 
empire, where it was felt that philosophy was, like 
Christianity, a search after truth ; and, as far as it went, 
confirmed the Bible. Justin Martyr, as late as the 
middle of the second century, declared that " the teach- 
ings of Plato are not alien to those of Christ, though not 
in all respects similar, for all writers (of antiquity) were 
able to have a dim vision of realities by means of the 
in-dwelling seed of the implanted word." 

There was even a tendency to unite the two movements. 
In the earliest days the Christians were closely bound 
together by a common enthusiasm, and had not found it 
necessary to organize the Church, or formulate an ex- 
plicit system of doctrine. But as the new religion 
spread throughout the Roman world, and was com- 
pelled to defend itself against the charges of immo- 
rality, atheism, and treason, the educated converts 
attempted to set forth the Christian teachings in terms 
of Greek thought, and to solve speculative problems 
that had never been considered by Jesus and his 
disciples. 

Hence, the first Hellenizing Christians like Justin were 
naturally Apologists, since their efforts were directed 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 283 

toward reconciling Christianity with the Graeco-Roman 
philosophy. In general, these philosophers mingled 
Stoicism with the teachings of Jesus. They utilized 
especially the Stoic doctrine of the Logos (' word '), 
taking it more directly from the combination with Juda- 
ism found in Philo. With Philo this Logos is repre- 
sented as the reason within every man, which is also 
the reason of God, but the Christian philosophers em- 
phasized more clearly than Philo the personal aspect 
of the Logos and the position of John that " the Word 
was made flesh and dwelt among us." Others besides 
the Apologists, who had previously been Hellenistic 
philosophers, and naturally continued after becoming 
Christians to think in those terms, carried the union to 
such an extent that it seemed for a time as if Christian- 
ity might become a mere intellectual system instead of 
a religion. The teachings of Pythagoras, Plato, Aris- 
totle, and the Stoics were all more or less amalgamated 
with those of Christ. Perhaps the most extreme of 
these philosophic positions within Christianity was that Gnosticism, 
tendency known as Gnosticism. This movement was 
a combination of the Hellenized forms of Oriental re- 
hgion with Christianity. It was intended to be a sort of 
esoteric 'knowledge,' ^ which should show the relation of 
Christianity to other religions and to the universe. In 
most cases it began with the Platonic doctrine of ideas, 

^ I.e. gnosis. 



284 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

and so made a metaphysical distinction between the ma- 
terial world, which was imperfect and evil, and the spirit 
or God, who was perfect. As this spiritual God could 
not have created the world of matter from which he was 
by nature so removed, the Gnostics had to reject the idea 
that the transcendent Jehovah was the Creator, and, ac- 
cordingly, to modify the Old Testament Scriptures.^ 
Likewise, they selected the Gospel of Luke and the 
writings of Paul from among the contemporary Chris- 
tian documents. 

In this way, during the second and third centuries, all 
the Christians at Alexandria, which had become the 
great center of the various syncretic movements known 
collectively as Hellenistic philosophy, were influenced 
by their environment and tinctured with Greek thought. 
Clement (150-215) held that the Gospels were simply 
'perfected Platonism,' and that philosophy was a 'peda- 
gogue to lead the world to Christ ; ' while his pupil, 
Origen (185-253), carried his admiration for philosophy 
to such an extent as to maintain that the real spiritual 
Christianity could be apprehended only through the 
forms of Greek thought. Ammonius Saccus (165-241) 
and his pupil, Plotinus (205-270), went even farther and 
reverted to Hellenism. They are generally considered 

1 Hence, too, their formulation of a whole hierarchy of intervening 
powers, which had emanated from God in a series until one was suf- 
ficiently akin to matter to create the world. 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 285 

the founders of the school of philosophy known as 
Neoplatonism. 

The Catechetical, Episcopal, and Cathedral Schools. — 

As the Christians came to absorb the Greek philosophy 
and culture, higher training became a necessity. For 
more than a century and a half they were unable to 
obtain any real literary education, except by attending 
pagan schools, but, with a view to affording higher 
instruction for Christian teachers and leaders, a sort Catechetical 
of theological, or * catechetical ' school, was gradually ^ere or- 
organized at Alexandria during the latter half of the Alexandria 
second century. It had no building of its own, and the ^^'^ ^'^^" 

where, when 

students met at the teacher's house, but they were able Christianity 

. began to 

to take advantage of the facilities of the University of amalgamate 
Alexandria. In addition to their theological training, philosophy, 
the pupils were allowed to study all types of Greek 
philosophy, except the degrading Epicureanism, and 
also the classical Greek literature, grammar, rhetoric, 
dialectic, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy, and 
other higher subjects common to the pagan schools, but 
from a different point of view. Thus the Graeco-Roman 
and the Christian movements had formed an alliance in 
education, and in this catechetical school we find a 
complete union and harmonization of the * otherworldly' 
ideal with the 'worldly.' 

' The founder of this institution was probably Athe- 
nagoras, one of the Apologists ; but it first became of 



286 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



and later 
became 
known as 
episcopal 
or cathe- 
dral schools. 



Christianity 
gradually 
grew sus- 



importance under Pantaenus, 179, who had been con- 
verted from Stoicism, and was a man of wide learn- 
ing. He was succeeded by his pupil, Clement, and he 
in turn by Origen. These last two were among the 
most noted of the Eastern Fathers in the philosophic 
interpretation of Christianity, and their school at Alex- 
andria contributed no little to heretical doctrine as well 
as to Christian theology. Origen was finally expelled 
for heresy, and opened a new school of the same sort 
at Caesarea, where he was kindly received. Other 
catechetical schools then sprang up rapidly at Antioch, 
Edessa, Nisibis, and elsewhere throughout the East, 
where the Christians were more sympathetically dis- 
posed toward the Greek philosophy. 

Before long the catechetical schools came to be used 
regularly by the bishops in training their clergy, and 
promotion in the Church began to depend upon having 
had this education. So these schools came to be an 
institution in every bishopric at the see city ; and 
thus became known eventually as episcopal (* bishop's ') 
schools, or, in the West especially, from their location 
at the bishop's church, as cathedral schools. These 
names, however, are not generally attached to the cate- 
chetical schools until the general foundation of monastic 
schools in the sixth century. 

Opposition of Christianity to the Graeco-Roman Cul- 
ture. — However, by the century after the foundation 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 28/ 

of the catechetical school at Alexandria, the Christians picious of 
had begun to grow suspicious of Grseco- Roman culture culture, 
and the ' worldly ' ideal in education. Even the Eastern 
Fathers appear to have cooled considerably in their 
attitude toward philosophy. Basil of Csesarea wrote : 
"Are we then to give up literature .'' I do not say that, 
but I^^oTsay that we must not kill souls. ... If you 
can unite both advantages, do so by all means ; but if 
not, choose the more precious." And Chrysostom of 
Antioch, in the fourth century, says of the Greek learn- 
ing : " I have long ago laid aside such follies, for one 
cannot spend all one's life in child's play." 

The Western or Latin Fathers seem to have been especially 
bitterly opposed to pagan culture even earlier. Roman westem 
Christians could not forget the immorality of those who ^^ ^^^'' 
had been connected with this culture, nor the abuse 
and insults that these pagans had heaped upon the 
Christians. They felt, too, that the one great mission 
of the Church was ethical, and that philosophy was 
somewhat impertinent. Moreover, the belief that the 
second coming of Christ was close at hand, and the 
consequent reaction against all the pleasures of the 
world, greatly strengthened their disposition to regard 
learning as of trivial importance. 

"The simpler-minded," said Tertullian, somewhere 
toward the end of the second century, " not to say 
ignorant and unlearned men, who always form the 



288 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



and all pagan 

literature was 

forbidden, 

and the 

pagan 

schools 

closed. 



But, as a 
result of 
Greek in- 



majority of believers, are frightened at the Economy 
{i.e. the philosophic explanation of the Trinity)." And 
he elsewhere shows himself so much in sympathy with 
this view as to ask : " What resemblance is there be- 
tween a philosopher and a Christian, — between a dis- 
ciple of Greece and a disciple of heaven ? " A century 
later, Jerome, the most scholarly of the Christian 
Fathers and the author of works on a variety of topics, 
narrates a dream in which his claim to being a Chris- 
tian was rebuked by the Almighty on the ground that 
no one could be of the faithful and at the same time 
'a Ciceronian.' Similarly, Augustine (354-430), who 
until nearly the middle of his life was a teacher and 
had written a great treatise on dialectic, later, as an 
ecclesiastical administrator, condemned the very works 
that had broadened his mind, and spent much of his 
energy fighting philosophic heresies. The principle of 
' authority ' contained in his City of God and his Con- 
fessions, together with his personal influence, was 
largely instrumental in bringing about the Council of 
Carthage (401), at which the clergy were forbidden 
to read all pagan literature ; and so helped to make 
possible the edict of Justinian (529), by which all 
pagan schools were closed and the Middle Ages ush- 
ered in. 

Influence of Greece and Rome upon Christianity. — 
Nevertheless, in spite of the growth of opposition to 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 289 

pagan culture and its eventual suppression, primitive fluence, 

. . . ,. . J- . Christianity 

Christianity could not endure m its simplicity after it adopted for- 
bad been in contact with the advanced intellectual con- ^^^ 'sdected 
cepts of the Greeks as modified by the organizing a canon 

01 SaCrcQ 

genius of the Romans. Both Greece and Rome had writings, 
left a permanent impress upon Christianity; and, 
though dead, they yet live in the Christian Church. 
While the Graeco- Roman culture had been rejected, its 
influence is seen in the formulation of a system of Chris- 
tian doctrine and the institutionalizing of the Church. 
Christianity no longer rested solely upon upright con- 
duct and religious fervor. An authoritative creed and 
a canon of approved writings had begun to appear. 
During the second century, the nucleus of the Apos- 

if" 

Ktles' Creed developed. It was not at first supposed 
that the apostles had a common confession, but in time 
the belief naturally arose that this creed had come down 
from them through unbroken tradition. By the earliest 
part of the third century the Church had also selected 
a canon of sacred writings, which overlapped that of 
the Gnostics somewhat, but omitted some works and 
added others. This New Testament was now recog- 
nized as on a par with the Jewish Scriptures, which 
the orthodox Christians had never rejected, and, taken 
together, they were considered to make up the Bible, 
or * book ' of authority. While creed and canon were 
not completely shaped for several centuries, both were 



290 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

early regarded as final on the ground of being the prod- 
uct of revelation. Henceforth, the assent to a body 
of doctrine, rather than one's conduct, became the 
test of Christian membership. In this way, a century 
before Augustine, the idea of * authority ' appeared ; 
and the Gnostics and other Hellenists were viewed 
as heretical. But the formulation of Christian doctrine 
could not stop with the Apostles' Creed and the Bible. 
There was much speculation with regard to the person 
of Jesus. The party of Arius held that Jesus was not 
* consubstantial ' with the Father, as was maintained in 
the doctrine of Athanasius and his followers. To settle 
this controversy, a Church council was called together 
at Nicaea in 325 ; and, as the result of the defeat 
of the Arians, a new creed was formed, known as the 
Nicene Creed, which was perfected during the follow- 
ing centuries. In the Western Church the Apostles' 
Creed was preferred, while in the East that of Nicaea 
prevailed. 
In other The Greek influence upon Christianity, however, has 

theology and ^^t been limited to the production of the Gnostic and 
Srsdanit^ Other heresies, or to the Gospel of John, the Nicene 
were in- Creed, and similar orthodox works. It appears through- 

fluenced rr & 

by Greek out the theology and customs of the Church. Many 

thought and 

practice. Other doctrmcs, especially of the Platonists and Stoics ; 
the Greek tendency to attribute universal validity to 
their inspired writings, and to interpret them allegori- 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 29I 

cally ; and the pomp, ceremonies, and mysteries of the 
old Hellenic worship, are all more or less apparent in 
various ecclesiastical tenets and usages. Likewise, the 
early Christian practice of spontaneous utterance, with 
the belief that the mouth would be filled by the Holy 
Ghost, gave way during the fourth century to the Greek 
custom of careful preparation. The artificial structure, 
elaborate phraseology, and bid for applause in the 
preaching of Basil and Chrysostom remind us some- 
what of the later rhetoricians of Hellenized Rome.^ 
( But Christianity was not modified by Hellenic influ- christian- 
ence alone. The Roman concepts of law and adminis- fluencedaiso 
tration specifically played an important part in reshaping oLanka^fon 
Christianity. The institution of definite tests, like the 
creeds and the canon of Scriptures, had been possible 
only through the Church's becoming more and more 
organized on the plan of the Roman civil polity. At 
first there seem to have been no appointed officials in 
the Church ; the apostles wandered from place to place, 
the prophets announced, and the teachers taught by no 
authority save the moving of the divine spirit. Gradu- 
ally the various congregations came to see the need 
of having officers to administer the funds of the 
churches, and apparently followed the pattern of the 
episcopi (* overseers ') of the pagan benevolent socie- 
ties on the one hand, and of the presbyteri (* elders ') 

1 See pp. 218 and 268. 



292 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

of the Jewish synagogue upon the other. As the 
enthusiasm and prophesying of the early days died 
out, and it became necessary to have regular teachers, 
it was only natural that the churches should turn to 
the overseers and elders to perform this function in 
addition to their stewardship. The names 'overseer' 
and * elder ' seem to have been used at first inter- 
changeably, but before long the president of the board 
of elders alone was known as overseer or bishop, and 
became a sort of superior teacher. Before the end of 
the second century, bishops were believed to have suc- 
ceeded the apostles in a direct line, and to have a super- 
natural apprehension of the truth. Then the bishops 
were thought of together as the heads of the Church, 
and met as a body from the neighboring cities of a 
given province to approve and defend doctrines. By 
the third century had begun that powerful organiza- 
tion of bishops, clergy, and laity known as the Catholic 
(' universal ') Church ; and any one selecting a belief out- 
side of that authorized by the Church, such as Arianism, 
was considered a heretic and debarred from salvation. 
This federation of the Church seems to have closely 
paralleled the Roman civil organization, the presbyters 
and bishops ordinarily corresponding to district and city 
magistrates respectively. Only a visible head of the 
entire Church, with a position similar to that of the 
emperor, was needed to make the comparison complete, 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 293 

and this was eventually accomplished in 445 through 
the recognition by Valentinian III of the supremacy 
of the Bishop of Rome, who by the sixth century came 
to be generally known as the Pope ('father'). From 
this time on the terms 'Catholic' and 'Roman' became 
practically synonymous. 

Effect of Organized Christianity upon Society. — Thus Greek and 
to-day the genius of both Greece and Rome is given a thought 
new lease of life through its incorporation in the doc- ^^^^' *'^^''^- 

° ^ fore, found 

trine and government of the Christian Church. If one *^"'' '^°'^- 

tinuance in 

would find the continuation of Greek philosophy, he Christianity, 
must look not to the schools of Alexandria, where it 
ran into a blind alley, but to the theology of Christian- 
ity ; and if he would trace the organizing power of the 
Romans, he will find the best present illustration not in 
a mighty empire, which died before the sixth century, 
and which neither Charlemagne nor Napoleon could 
revive, but in the living Church of Catholic Christianity. 
A Conversely, it must be admitted that for centuries 
/ Christianity has not been the pure unadulterated religion 
1^ of Christ, and that many of the doctrines and forms 
of Church government are outgrowths of more ancient 
thought. Nevertheless, while this substitution of dogma 
for a free spirit of devotion, love, and service constituted 
a lowering of standards and a loss to true religion, it 
seems to have been absolutely necessary, if Christianity 
were to accomplish its mission. After the traditions of 



294 



A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



the personality of Jesus had somewhat faded, and the 
enthusiasm had been diluted by the accession of great 
hordes of converts, especially among the German bar- 
barians, some system of organization and doctrine was 
necessary to bind the heterogeneous mass together. 
Christianity was preserved at a lower level, but it was 
preserved. 

The Monastic Schools. — Thus it has been seen how 
the two great movements of Grseco-Roman culture and 
Christianity arose independently, in time united, and 
later separated, although after separation each is dis- 
covered to have been influenced by the other. That is 
to say, as we view the education of premediaeval Chris- 
tianity, we find first that the catechumenal schools 
illustrate the nature of primitive Christianity, with its 
' otherworldly ' ideal. Then the union of Hellenism 
and Christianity, — the 'worldly' with the 'otherworldly,' 
appears in the catechetical schools. Finally, through 
the alienation of the Christians from the Greek learning, 
which culminated in 529 with the decree of Justinian 
and the downfall of the pagan schools, the Christian 
education seems to have been left alone in the field, 
but to have been somewhat affected by its long associ- 
ation with Graeco-Roman culture. 

It then found its chief means of expression in the 
monastic schools ; and there was naturally in these in- 
stitutions a tendency to revert to an ascetic or 'other- 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 295 

worldly ' ideal, and leave intellectual attainments largely 
out of consideration. The curriculum became fixed and 
somewhat barren. It consisted mostly in learning to 
read and write the Scriptures, sing psalms, work out 
enough mathematics and astronomy to calculate holy 
days, together with a mere taste of the old Graeco-Roman 
culture through the medium of the Seven Liberal Arts. 

These monastic institutions remained the most impor- 
tant influence in education until the Revival of Learning 
and a wider educational content appeared. But the 
discussion of monasticism and the monastic schools be- 
longs rather to the Middle Ages than the period of Early 
Christianity. 

Summary of Premediaeval Progress. — It may be well 
at this point to summarize in briefest terms what prog- 
ress was effected in education before the dawn of modem 
times. In general, it may be stated that during the day 
of primitive man no distinction at all was made between 
society and the individual, and practically all advance- 
ment was impossible, for no one looked beyond the 
present. With the appearance of the transitional period 
in the Oriental countries, the individual had begun to 
emerge, but was kept in constant subjection to the social 
whole, for man was quite enslaved to the past. As the 
Jewish, Athenian, and Roman civilizations developed, the 
beginnings of individualism were for the first time 
revealed, and some regard was had for the future. 



296 A HISTORY OF EDUCATION 

Finally, in the teaching of Christ, there came a larger 
recognition of the principle of individualism and the 
brotherhood of man. Owing to the necessity for 
spreading these enlarged ideals among a barbarous 
horde of peoples, individualism for a time was forced 
back, and throughout the Middle Ages the leaven lay 
hidden in the lump. But in a variety of ways its 
influence increased during this seemingly dormant 
period, until, in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth 
centuries, we catch the unmistakable signs of an awak- 
ening. Such a Rejtaissance ('new birth ') was inevitable, 
for development cannot be permanently arrested, and 
only through a universal possibility of expression can 
progress be insured. In the spiritual, as in the biologi- 
cal world, variation is essential. 



SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I. Sources 

Christian Fathers : Athanasius, Athenagoras, Basil, Chrysostom, 
Clement of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Cyprian, Eusebius, 
Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, Hegesippus, Hippo- 
lytus, Ignatius, Irenseus, Jerome, Justin Martyr, Lactantius, Marcion, 
Minucius Felix, Origen, Polycarp, Tatian, Tertullian, and Theophilus. 

Hellenizedjew: Philo. 

Neoplatonist : Plotinus. 

Stoics : Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca. 

The Apostles'' Creed; The New Testament; The Nicene Creed; 
The Teaching of the Apostles; Epistle of Barnabas. 



EARLY CHRISTIANITY 297 

II. Authorities 

Addis, W. E. Christianity and the Roman Empire. 

Allen, A. V. G. The Continuity of Christian Thought. 

Cairo, E. Theology in the Greek Philosophers. 

Dill, S. Homatt Society in the Last Century of the Western 

Empire. Bk. V especially. 
DoLLlNGER, J. J. I. Jew and Gentile. 
Farrar, F. W. Early Days of Christianity. 

Harrison, Jane E. Prolegoinena to the Study of Greek Religion. 
Hatch, E. The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the 

Christian Church. 
Hausrath, a. History of New Testament Times in the Apostolic 

Period. 
Hodgson, Geraldine. Primitive Christian Education. 
KuENAN, A. Judaism and Christianity. 
MiLMAN, C. History of Latin Christianity. Bk. III. 
Neander, a. General History of the Christian Religion and 

Church. 
Orr, James. Neglected Factors in the Sttidy of the Early Progress 

of Christianity. 
Schurer, E. History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus 

Christ. 
Taylor, H. O. Ancient Ideals. 

Taylor, H. O. Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages. 
Toy, C. H. Judaism, and Christianity. 
Wenley, R. AI. The Preparation for Christianity. 



INDEX 



Academy, the, 165 (footnote), 215. 

Achaia, 146. 

Acropolis, 144. 

iEschylus, 144, 172, 178. 

Ahriraan, 94. 

Aim of education. See Purpose. 

Alcibiades, 144. 

Alexander, 145. 

Alexandria, university of, 219 f. ; 

museum and library, 220, 263; 

Christians at, 284 f. ; catechetical 

school at, 285 f. 
Ammonius Saccus, 284 f. 
Amon, 25, 36. 
Ancestor worship, 11. 
Andronicus, Livius, 247. 
Angas, 85. 
Animism, 9, 117. 

Anthropomorphism, in Judffia, 119. 
Apologists, 282 f., 285. 
Apostles' Creed, 289. 
Architecture, of Egypt, 29 f.; Baby- 

lonio-Assyria, 47 f. ; Greeks, 143 f., 

222. 
Aristides, 144. 

Aristophanes, 144, 172, 179. 
Aristotle, educational theory, 198 ff., 

276 f. ; influence of, 211 ff. 
Arius, 290. 
Art, of Egypt, 31 f. ; Babylonio- 

Assyria, 47 f. ; China, 62; Greeks, 

143 f- 
Aryans, 77 f. 
Assyria, 43 ff. ; social conditions, etc. 

See Babylonia. 
Aten, 25. 
Athanasius, 290. 
Athenagoras, 285. 
Athens, history of, 142 ff. ; education 

of, 157 ff. 
Augustine, 288. 
Augustus, Age of, 233 f. 



Ba'al, 118, 120. 

Babylonia, 43 f. ; social conditions, 
44 f. ; religion and ethics, 45 f. ; 
science, 46 f. ; architecture and 
art, 47 f. ; literature, 48 f.; edu- 
cation, 49 f. 

Barbarism, 20 f. 

BasU, 287, 291. 

Beth ham-Midrash, 126. 

Bhandarkar, Professor, quoted, 85. 

Bible, 289 f. 

Bishop of Rome, 293. 

Bishops, 291 f. 

Blandus, 260. 

Blood tie, 9. 

Book of the Dead, 26. 

Brahmanism, 78 ff. 

Brotherhood of man, 273, 274. 

Buddhism, 60, 79 f. 

Carvilius, Spurius, 252. 

Castes, in India, 80 f. 

Catechetical schools, 285 f. 

Catechists, 281. 

Catechumenal schools, 279 ff. 

Cathedral schools, 286. 

Catholic Church, 292, 293. 

Cato, 244, 245. 

Children, in China, 65; India, 80; 
Persia, 96; Judaea, 135; Sparta, 
149 ff. ; Athens, 157 ff. ; The Re- 
public, 186; The Politics, 205 ff. ; 
Christianity, 275. 

China, 55 f-; religion and ethics, 58 
ff. ; culture, 61 f. ; education, 62 ff. ; 
effect upon civilization, 73 ff. 

Christianity, larger ideals of, 274 f.; 
its universal appeal, 278; amalga- 
mation with Grasco-Roman cul- 
ture, 281 ff. ; opposition to pagan 
learning, 286 ff. ; influence of 
Greece upon, 288 ff.; influence of 



299 



300 



INDEX 



Rome upon, 291 ff. ; effect upon 
society, 293 f. 

Christian schools, 278, 279 f., 285 f., 
294 f. 

Chiysippus, 216, 250 (footnote). 

Chrysostom, 287, 291. 

Cicero, 233, 246, 253, 256, 258, 261, 
262. 

Cimon, 144. 

Citharistes, 161, 163, 165 (footnote). 

Classes of society, in Egypt, 27 f. ; 
Babylonio-Assyria, 44 f. ; India, 
80 f . ; Persia, 96. 

Clement, 284, 286. 

Cleon, 144. 

Confessions before Osiris, 26. 

Confucius, 56 ff. 

Conscious evolution, education as, i f. 

Constitution of Athens, 203 (footnote). 

Content of education, 6; in primitive 
society, 14 f.; Egypt, 35 ff.; Baby- 
lonio-Assyria, 49 f. ; Phoenicia, 54 
China, 69 ff.; India, 83 ff. ; Persia 
98 ff. ; transitional people, 106 
Judsea, 123 ff. ; prehistoric Greece, 
146 f.; Sparta, 150 ff. ; Athens 
157) 159 ff-j ^^^ Republic, 186 ff. 
The Politics, 205 ff. ; Rome in 
early days, 237 ff. ; ludi, 246 f 
grammar schools, 252 ff.; rhetorical 
schools, 259 ff. ; university, 264 
Christian schools, 278 f., 279 ff. 
285 f., 295. 

Corporal punishment, in -Egypt, 38 f. 
China, 73; India, 88; among 
Jews, 132 f.; Spartans, 151, 153 
Athenians, 165, 166; Romans, 
249 f., 259. 

Corruption, at Rome, 234 f., 245. 

Council, at Carthage, 288; Nica2a, 290. 

Crates of Mallos, 243, 253. 

Curiales, 235. 

Cyropcedia, 99 (footnote), 179. 

Dancing, 152, 155, 163, 258. 
Decemvirs, 231, 243. 
Degrees, in China, 66 ff. 
Delos, Confederacy of, 143. 
Dialectic, 181, 189. 



Didascaleum, 161, 186. 
Dionysius, of Thrace, 256 f. 
Discipline, of schools. See Corporal 

punishment. 
Double, conception of the, 9 f. 

Education, purpose of, 5; matter, 6; 
method, 6; organization, 6; re- 
sults, 7. 

Egypt, 22; engineering, 23 f. ; reli- 
gion and ethics, 25 ff. ; classes of 
society, 27 f.; position of women, 
28; architecture, 29 f.; art, 31 f.; 
sciences, 2i?>i literature, 34; edu- 
cation, 34 ff. 

Eiren, 154. 

Elementary schools, in China, 64 f. ; 
India, 84; Judaea, 126 f. ; Sparta, 
ISO ff.; Athens, 158 ff.; The Re- 
public, 185 f. ; The Politics, 205 ff. ; 
Rome, 246 ff. 

Engineering, in Egypt, 23 f., 2,Z- 

Entelechy, 202 (footnote). 

Ephebus, 167 f., 175. 

Epicureans, the, 216. 

Episcopal schools, 286. 

Episcopi, 291 f. 

Erechtheum, 144. 

Ethics, in Egypt, 26 f., Babylonio- 
Assyria, 45 f. ; Phcenicia, 53 f.; 
China, 58 f. ; India, 78 f.; Persia, 

93 f- 
Ethics, The, 198 ff. 
Euripides, 144, 172. 
Examinations, in China, 65 ff. 
Exposure of children, 149 f., 158, 

191, 205, 211, 275. 

Family, as means of education, among 
savages, 14 f.; Jews, 123; Greeks, 
147, 150, 158, 186, 205 f. ; early 
Romans, 237 ff. ; Christians, 278. 

Five Classics, 57. 

Formal discipline, 189, 196, 213. 

Four Books, 5 7 f . 

Future, consideration for, 109, 272 f. 

Future life, belief in, among Egyp- 
tians, 26; Babylonio-Assyrians, 46; 
Persians, 96. 



INDEX 



301 



Gemara, 116. 

Gilgamesh, Epic of, 46, 48. 
Gnosticism, 283 f., 289, 290. 
Graeco-Roman culture, absorption of, 

281 £f. 
Grammar schools, in Rome, 252 ff. 
Grammaticus, 252. 
Greece, history of, 139 ff. ; education 

in, 146 ff.; influence of, upon 

Christianity, 288 ff. 5ee 0/50 Athens 

and Sparta. 
Greek culture, absorption of, 221 f., 

281 ff., 288 ff. 
Greek Fathers, 281 ff. 
Gymnasia, 165, 175. 
Gymnastse, 165. 

Hammurabi, 43, 49. 

Han-lin, 66. 

Hapi, 25. 

Hebrews. See Jews. 

Hellenistic philosophy, 221, 284 f. 

Helotes, 141, 150. 

Henotheism, in Egypt, 26; Babylonio- 
Assyria, 45 f. ; Israel, 118, 122; 
Greece, 224. 

Herodotus, 144. 

Hesiod, 164, 256. 

Hieroglyphs, Egyptian, 37 f. 

Higher education, in China, 65 ff. ; 
India, 842.; Judaea, 125 f. ; Sparta, 
153 f. ; Athens, 165 ff., 175 f. ; 
The Republic, 189; The Politics, 
208 f.; Rome, 2592.; early Chris- 
tianity, 285 f. 

Hinduism, 80. 

History of education, value of, 2 ; 
how to study it, 2 ff. 

Home, as means of education. See 
Family. 

Homer, 140, 147, 152, 164, 253, 256. 

Horace, 233, 256. 

Horus, 25. 

Ideal of education. See Purpose. 

Ideals, how developed, 3 ff . ; how 
realized, 5 f . ; beginnings of con- 
sideration for, 272 f. 

Ideographs, 37 f., 50, 61. 



Imitation, as method of education, 
primitive peoples, 16; Egypt, 38; 
Babylonio-Assyria, 50; China, 72; 
India, 87; Persia, 100; transitional 
peoples, 107; Jews, 131; prehis- 
toric Greece, 148; Athens, 164; 
Rome, 241 f., 248 f. 

India, 77 f.; religion, 78 ff.; castes, 
80 ff. ; education, 83 ff. ; effect 
upon character, 88 f. 

Individualism, in primitive society, 
15, 18; Egypt, 40; Babylonio-As- 
syria, 51; Phoenicia, 54; China, 75; 
India, 88 f. ; Persia, 101; the tran- 
sitional peoples, 105; prehistoric 
Greece, 148; Sparta, 155; Athens, 
157) 159; of the sophists, 176 f.; 
Plato, 191 ff. ; Aristotle, 209 f., 214 f.; 
the Greeks, 226 ff.; the beginnings 
of, 272 f.; in Christianity, 274 f. 

Industrial class, in Egypt, 28; in 
Babylonio-Assyria, 44 f. 

Initiatory ceremonies, 15. 

Irony, of Socrates, 181 f. 

Isis, 25. 

Isocrates, 218. 

Israel. See Jews. 

Jahweh. See Jehovah. 

Jehovah, in, 113, 133. 

Jerome, 288. 

Jews, history of, no ff.; religion, 

117 ff. ; education, 122 ff. ; effect 

on civilization, 133 ff. 
Johnson, Samuel, quoted, 8. 
Josue ben Gamala, 104. 
Judasa. See Jews. 
Justin, 282. 
Justinian, edict of, 288, 294. 

Ka, the, 26. 
Karnak, 29. 
Katharsis, 208. 

Lares, 240. 

Latin Fathers, 287 f. 

Laws, The, 194. 

Liberal studies, 196. 

Literature, of Egypt, 34; Babylonio- 



302 



INDEX 



Assyria, 48 f. ; China, 61 ; India, 
85; Persia, 97 f. ; Jews, 115 f.; 
Greeks, 143 f. ; Romans, 233 f. 

Litterator, 247, 252. 

Litteratus, 252. 

Locke, 196. 

Logos, 283. 

Lucilius, 256. 

Lucretius, 233, 256. 

Ludus, 245, 246 f. 

Luxor, 29. 

Lyceum, 165 (footnote), 215. 

Lycurgus, 142, 152. 

Maccabees, the, 116. 

Macedonian conquest, 145. 

Maieutic, 182. 

Manu, Code of, 8^. 

Martin, Dr., quoted, 65. 

Matter of education. See Content. 

Mazdeism, 93 f. 

Means of education. See Organiza- 
tion. 

Melleiren, 153. 

Memoriter method, 38, 50, 71, 87, 
129 f., 164, 249. 

Metempsychosis, 78. 

Method, of Socrates, 181 f. 

Method of education, 6; in primitive 
society, 16; Egypt, 37 f. ; Babylo- 
nio-Assyria, 50; China, 71; India, 
86; Persia, 100; Judasa, 129 ff. ; 
prehistoric Greece, 148; Sparta, 
150 £f.; Athens, 164; Rome, of 
early days, 241 f. ; ludi, 247; gram- 
mar schools, 258 f.; rhetorical 
schools, 262 f. 

Micah, quoted, 119. 

Military class, in Egypt, 27 f.; Bab- 
ylonio-Assyria, 44; India, 80; 
Persia, 91, 98. 

Mishna, ir6. 

Mnemonics, among Jews, 130. 

Monastic schools, 294 f. 

Monitorial system, 87 f. 

Monotheism, among Jews, 120. 

Musonius, 264 f. 

Mycenae, 140. 

Myron, 144. 



Natural forces, savages' inability to 

control, 12. 
Nature peoples, 12, 18. 
Nazarites, the, 120 (footnote). 
Neomazdeism, 221. 
Neoplatonism, 196, 221, 285. 
Neopythagoreanism, 221. 
New Period, education at Athens, 

170 ff. 
New Testament, 289 f. 
Nicene Creed, 290. 
Nicias, 144. 
Nile, effect on Egypt, 23 f.; as deity, 

25- 

Occupational content, 106. 

Old Period, education at Athens, 157, 
169 f. 

Organization of education, 6; in 
primitive society, 14; Egypt, 35 f.; 
Babylonio- Assyria, 49 f. ; Phoe- 
nicia, 54; China, 63 ff. ; India, 
83 f. ; Persia, 98; among transi- 
tional peoples, 107; Jews, 125 ff. ; 
prehistoric Greeks, 147; in Sparta, 
150 ff. ; Athens, 157 ff. ; Rome 
of early days, 2362.; ludi, 246 f., 
251; grammar schools, 252 f. ; cate- 
chumenal schools, 280; catechet- 
ical schools, 285. 

Organon, The, 212. 

Origen, 284, 286. 

Ormazd, 94. 

Osiris, 25. 

Ostracism, 143. 

Pasdagogus, 158, 250. 
Pffidonomus, 150. 
Pffidotribes, 160. 
Palasmon, 257. 
Palaestra, 159. 
Panchatantra, 84. 
Pancratium, 151, 166. 
Pantaenus, 286. 
Parishads, 84. 
Parochial schools, 281. 
Parthenon, 144. 
Patria potestas, 237. 
Patricians, 231. 



INDEX 



303 



Pedisequus, 250. 

Peloponnesian war, 144 f. 

Penates, 240. 

Pcntathluiu, 160. , 

P .'.les, 143 £., 179. 

P ;aecf, 141, 150, 

P?ilpuetics, the, 211, 216. 

Persia, 91 f. ; government, 92 f. ; 

' religion aad rrhios, 93 ff.; educa- 
tion, 98 ff. 

I^ersiari wars, 743. 

Phidias, 144- 

Phiiip of Macedcn, 145. 

Philonism. 133 (footnote), 221, 276, 
283. 

Philosophical 'schools, 215 ff. 

Philosophic class, in The Republic, 
188 f. 

Philosophy, inadequate to check vice, 
276 f. 

Phoenicia, achievements, 52 f. ; char- 
acter of people, 53 f. ; education, 
54; influence upon civilization, 54. 

Phonetic alphabet, 53. 

Physicians, in Egypt, 33, 37; Baby- 
lonio- Assyria, 47. 

Plato, 184 ff., 215. 

Plebeians, 231. 

Plotinus, 284. 

Plotius, 260. 

Poetics, The, 198, 208 (footnote). 

Politics, The, 198, 203 ff. 

Polydemonism, 117. 

Polygnotus, 144. 

Practical education, of savages, 13. 

Prfficoninus, 253, 256. 

Presbyteri, 291 f. 

Present, savages tied to the, 17. 

Priestly class. See Sacerdotal. 

Primitive education, purpose of, 1 2 ff . ; 
organization and content, 14 ff. ; 
method, 16; results, 17 f. 

Primitive society, 9 ff. 

Progress, premedieval, 295 f. 

Prophets, schools of , 113, 119 ff., 124 f. 

Protagoras, 174, 177. 

Ptah-hotep, Aphorisms of, 27. 

Puberty rites, 15 f. 

Purpose of education, 5 ; in primitive 



society, 12 ff.; Egypt, 34 f.; Bab- 
ylonio- Assyria, 49; Phoenicia, 54; 
China, 62 f. ; India, 83; Persia, 
98; among transitional peoples, 
105 f. ; Jews, 122 f. ; prehistoric 
Greeks, 147; in Sparta, 149; 
Athens, 157; Socrates, 181; Plato, 
190 f. ; Aristotle, 198; Rome in 
early days, 236; ludi, 246; gram- 
mar schools, 254; rhetorical 
schools, 259 ff. ; catechumenal 
schools, 279; catechetical schools, 
285 ; monastic schools, 294 f . 

Pyramids, in Egypt, 30 f. 

P3Trho, 216. 

Pythagoras, 178 f., 194. 

Quintilian, 233, 245 f., 247, 249, 253, 
254, 25s, 257, 261, 262, 266, 268. 

Re, 25. 

Rechabites, the, 120 (footnote). 

Relative mean, of Aristotle, 200 f. 

Religion, in primitive society, 9 ff. ; 
Egypt, 25 f. ; Babylonio- Assyria, 
45 f. ; Phoenicia, 53 f. ; China, 
jSJE.; India, 78 ff.; Persia, 93 ff.; 
of Jews, 117 ffT; Greeks, 152, 162, 
171; Romans, 240 f.; Christians, 
274 f., 277 f. 

Renaissance, 296. 

Republic, The, 185 ff. 

Restricted ideals, 105 f. 

Results of education, 7; in primitive 
society, 16 ff. ; Egypt, 39 ff. ; Bab- 
ylonio- Assyria, 50 f. ; Phoenicia, 
54; China, 73 ff. ; India, 88 f.; 
Persia, loi f. ; among transitional 
peoples, 107 ff. ; Jews, 133 ff.; 
in Sparta, 155 ff. ; Athens, 169 ff.; 
Socrates, 183 f. ; Plato, 194 ff.; 
Aristotle, 211 ff. ; early days of 
Rome, 242 f. ; later Rome, 269 f. 

Rhetorical schools, 217 f., 259 ff. 

Rhodes, university at, 219, 263. 

Rome, history of, 230 ff. ; education 
in early days, 236 ff. ; religion, 
239 ff. ; influence of Greece upon, 
243 ff.; ludi, 246 ff.; grammar 



304 



INDEX 



schools, 252 ff.; rhetorical schools, 
259 ff. ; university, 263 f. ; effect 
of education upon civilization, 
269 f.; influence of, upon Chris- 
tianity, 291 flf. 

Sacerdotal class, in Egypt, 27; Bab- 
ylonio-Assyria, 44; India, 80; 
Persia, 94. 

Sacerdotal organization, 107. 

Satraps, 93. 

Savages, chief characteristics. See 
Primitive society and Primitive 
education. 

Schoolrooms, in Egypt, 36; Baby- 
lonio-Assyria, 50; China, 64; 
India, 84; Judasa, 125 ff. ; Athens, 
159 ff., 165; Rome, 251, 259. 

Science, in Egypt, ^2>\ Babylonio-As- 
syria, 46 f. ; Phoenicia, 53; China, 
62; India, 86; among the Jews, 
126, 13s; prehistoric Greeks, 147; 
in Athens, 174; Plato, 189; Aris- 
totle, 198; Alexandria, 221 ; Rome, 
245; rhetorical schools, 26T f. ; 
university, 264. 

Scribes, in Egypt, 36 f.; Babylonio- 
Assyria, 44; among Jews, 115 f., 
121. 

Seven Liberal Arts, 261, 295. 

Simon ben Shetach, 127. 

Skeptics, the, 216. 

Smith, Dr. A. H., quoted, 71, 73. 

Socrates, 180 ff.; method of, 181 f. 

Sopherim, 116. 

Sophistse, 173 ff. ; influence of, 175 f. 

Sophocles, 144, 172. 

Sophronistes, 166. 

Sparta, 141 f., 144 f. ; education, 
149 ff.; effect upon civilization, 

issff. 

Static results, 107 f. 

Stilo, 253. 

Stoics, the, 216. 

Subsidizing of education, at Rome, 

2655. 
Suetonius, 246, 259. 
Synagogues, 125 f. 



Tacitus, 246. 

Talmud, 116. 

Taoism, 60. 

Teacher, in pr • , 7; 

Egypt, 38, 41; j^:, :. ,'onio-Ai.s/ria, 
50; China, 65, yt ff.; India, &- f.; 
among transitional jxrojdes, 07; 
Jews, 123 f., 125 f. •\27, 131 I.; in 
Sparta, 150; A.ueas, i6p, r6i, ];>s, 
173 f. ; Rome, 347, 25? £,, afo, 
263, 265 ff. 

TertuUian, 287 f. 

Theban supremac 

Themistocles, 144 

Theoretical educai ■'.'■■ f. 

Theseum, 144. 

Thorah, 112, 115, 116, 129. 

Thucydides, 144. 

Totemism, 10, 117. 

Traditions, evolution of, 3 f. 

Trial and error, 16. 

Twelve Tables, The, 231, 238, 247. 

Universities, among the Greeks, 219 f.; 
the Romans, 263 f. 

Varro, 233, 245, 256. 

Veda, 85. 

Vergil, 233, 256, 259, 268. 

Vestal virgins, 240. 

Vice, at Rome, 234, 275 ff. 

Women, in primitive society, 15; 
Egypt, 28; Babylonio-Assyria, 45; 
China, 59; India, 82; Persia, 98; 
among transitional peoples, 106; 
the Jews, 129; in Sparta, 154 f. ; 
Athens, 168 f. ; The Republic, 190; 
The Politics, 206; Rome, 264 f. ; 
Christianity, 275. 

Xenophon, 99 (footnote), 144, 179. 

Zarathushtra, 94. 

Zend-Avesta, 97. 

Zeno, 216. 

Ziggurat, 47. 

Zoroaster. See Zarathushtra. 



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